Police say man set woman on fire, kidnapped child, led police on chase in Mississippi

Published 10:49 am Tuesday, August 13, 2019

North Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee, law enforcement investigators are working a case in which a man reportedly doused a woman with gasoline, set her on fire and kidnapped her child.

Memphis police report the approximately 3-year-old child was found unharmed after police stopped the suspect in Olive Branch, Mississippi, after a chase. The suspect reportedly pushed the girl out of the car at some point during the police chase. The suspect, who is a family member, is in custody.

Police were called after the girl’s mother was taken to the Olive Branch Methodist Hospital with severe burns in the early morning hours Tuesday.

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Police say the suspect pulled up next to a police officer and demanded he be given a cell phone or he’d kill the girl, WREG-TV in Memphis reports.

Police tried to stop the driver, but he fled, leading them on a chase.

Eventually the driver reportedly rammed a police car and was injured.

Reportedly the man refused to exit the car forcing police to break the back glass of the car and physically remove him.

The man faces charges in Mississippi and Tennessee, including attempted murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, endangering a child and refusing to stop for law enforcement officers.

Two officers involved in the chase were injured with what police say are non-life threatening injuries.