A would-be arsonist has set themselves on fire while trying to firebomb a tobacco store in Adelaide.
CCTV footage captured just before 5am shows the person attempting to break into the Clearview tobacco store with a crowbar and jerry can.
The person douses the store’s front in petrol and sets it alight, only to be engulfed in flames themselves, running across Hampstead Road to a waiting car.
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The incident comes amid an ongoing turf war over control of Adelaide’s illegal tobacco market. It is the 10th arson attack connected to the escalating conflict and the fourth this week alone.
“It’s very concerning for us that we’ve had so many arsons and even after announcing that we have a taskforce in operation,” Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.
The innocent owners of an IT store in Brooklyn Park were caught up in one of the attacks earlier in the week, while other businesses located near tobacco stores are now in fear.
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“We’ve doubled our insurance because of all of the stuff that’s been going on,” neighbouring Clearview business owner Emily Collins said.
“All of the stuff in Melbourne about burning down the shops and stuff like that. So as soon as they moved in, we’ve been a bit more worried.”
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
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