CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. – A Pennsylvania man was arrested after he doused a 4-year-old boy with gasoline and threatened to burn a “demon” out of him, police said.
Josiah James McIntosh, 27, has been identified as the suspect. He is facing aggravated assault and other charges.
The incident occurred Wednesday, around 1 p.m., at a home in Southmont Borough, just outside Johnstown, Fox News reported.
According to the West Hills Police Department, officers responding to a “domestic disturbance” arrived at the home and found the child smelling of gasoline.
Police found McIntosh after a brief search of the neighborhood, and he also possessed the odor of gas as well as being in possession of a disposable lighter.
Officer Christopher Kesslak alleged in a criminal complaint that McIntosh “splashed gasoline on the little boy and made a reference to setting him on fire.”
A man who arrived at the home before police reported that McIntosh told him, “If we can’t get out the demon, I’ll burn it out of him,” according to the complaint.
The man said he tried to stop McIntosh, but the defendant punched him and hit him in the head with a brick before fleeing.
In addition to aggravated assault of a person under the age of 6, McIntosh was charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment.
Police did not say whether the boy is related to McIntosh, but at least one news account said the victim is his son, Fox reported.
McIntosh is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 27.
