News: Homeless Man Set On Fire

From the Globe and Mail

A man was set on fire Saturday night by three assailants after he fell asleep on a couch on a sidewalk just around the corner from the Commercial Drive bar where he had been drinking with friends.

The 26-year-old Filipino man from New Westminster suffered minor burns to his chest and right wrist, saved from a worse outcome because witnesses quickly intervened. The first witness, a homeless man, ran to help and got in a fight with the three white attackers. Another witness approached and the men ran away.

Speculation about the motive for the attack and whether a hate crime had been committed was rampant yesterday. The description of the men - white, dressed all in black with tattoos and piercings, one with a bald or shaved head - evoked the image of racist skinheads.

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