A man was arrested on Wednesday after he burst into a building where a member of the Danville, Va., City Council was working, doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire, the police said.
The Danville police said in a statement that the city councilman, Lee Vogler, 38, had been airlifted to a regional medical center for treatment and that it was not immediately clear how seriously he had been hurt.
The police said they had arrested Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29, of Danville, in connection with the attack. Information about charges will be released soon, they said.
Witnesses told the police that Mr. Hayes poured a flammable on Mr. Vogler during a confrontation at Mr. Vogler’s workplace, the police said. Both men then left the building, and Mr. Hayes set Mr. Vogler on fire outside, the police said.
Mr. Hayes drove off after the attack, and the police stopped him several blocks from the scene after witnesses described his vehicle, the police said.A preliminary investigation has found the two men know each other “and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation,” the police said.
Mr. Vogler has been a city councilor in Danville, a city of about 42,000 on the North Carolina border, about 50 miles northwest of Raleigh, since May 2012.
Mr. Vogler is the managing partner of Andrew Brooks Media Group, a publisher of regional magazines, according to his biography on the city’s website.
Andrew Brooks, the owner of the publishing company, described the attack in a video posted to the social media account of Showcase Magazine and Evince Magazine, both of which are published by Andrew Brooks Media Group.
Mr. Brooks, who could not immediately be reached for comment, said in the video that Mr. Hayes forced his way into the office with “a five-gallon bucket of gasoline.” Mr. Hayes poured the gasoline on Mr. Lee, who tried to flee to the front of the building, where he was set ablaze, Mr. Brooks said.
Mr. Lee was awake and talking after the attack, and identified his assailant as Mr. Hayes, Mr. Brooks said.
“You do not have the right as a human being to get upset with someone enough to lash out and attempt to harm them in any way, much less this way,” Mr. Brooks said in the video.
Rylee Kirk reports on breaking news, trending topics and major developing stories.
Mark Walker is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on transportation. He is based in Washington.
Michael Levenson covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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