A 28-year-old Texas man is facing felony charges after allegedly attacking a co-worker with a makeshift blowtorch in a workplace dispute over a comment he believed was made about his mother.
Khalid Elhindi, an employee at Imperial Star Solar in Tomball, a Houston suburb, is accused of confronting the victim in the parking lot on Monday. According to a probable cause affidavit, Elhindi asked the co-worker’s name, then sprayed him with gasoline from a Gatorade bottle, and tried to ignite a Lysol can and lighter to create a fire-spewing device.
Witnesses say Elhindi chased the man across the lot. After the victim tripped and fell, Elhindi allegedly straddled him, tried again to ignite the device, and then began punching him in the face, claiming the victim insulted his mother back in Sudan.
The victim, who said he had no connection to Elhindi or his family and has never been to Sudan, suffered a possible broken ankle, facial bruising, and eye irritation from the gasoline. Witnesses intervened to stop the assault.
Elhindi was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in Harris County Jail on $50,000 bond and has been appointed a public defender. He reportedly told police he had been working at the company for about two months.