Police have several suspects but have made no arrests in a firebombing incident that injured an 8-year-old girl in an apartment at 1861 W. 600 North early Tuesday.
The girl received second-degree burns on her face, forearms and stomach after a makeshift firebomb was thrown against a bedroom window of a basement apartment at the Starcrest complex, according to a Salt Lake police report. She was treated at the University Hospital emergency room and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.A 15-year-old boy, also inside the apartment, was treated for smoke inhalation. Damage to the apartment totaled about $1,000, said Salt Lake City Fire Capt. Dan Andrus, and 20 people were evacuated from the complex.
"That was just a precaution," he said. "The fire problem was insignificant."
The bomb used, called a molotov cocktail, consisted of rags and accelerant inside a bottle with a wick, Andrus said. Such bombs are lit and then thrown, so that when they hit the ground they break and "cause fire to spread all over," he said.
The bomb hit the outside of the building and flames burned into the inside, Andrus said. The police report indicates the carpet, mattress and ceiling in the room were scorched.
Salt Lake firefighters deal with about three or four incidents a year involving similar bombs, Andrus said, "but those are mainly (thrown) just at porches and don't burn the inside of houses."
Police currently have about eight suspects and are conducting an arson investigation, according to the report.