Thank you for the uupdate. If you hear any report of why this hideous act was done, please post it. Of course, I'm assuming the two monsters missed their intended targets(s).
Boy, mom burned
By Eric Louie
Record Staff Writer
A 3-year-old Stockton boy is clinging to life after someone threw a Molotov cocktail during a party at his home early Saturday morning, the Stockton Police Department reported.
His mother also was injured in the attack. A 21-year-old man was arrested Saturday night in connection with the attack, and his older brother was being sought.
Police have no motive for the attack, which left the boy with third-degree burns on 95 percent to 100 percent of his body.
Police said the boy, Jamal Lee Brice, and his mother, Michelle Bridge, 21, were among a group of people standing in front of their home around 3 a.m. in the 700 block of East Swain Road when the device was thrown. Both brothers were said to have been in a car parked in front of the apartment complex and yelling obscenities. The phrase "That's what you get, ... Westside!" also was said, according to police.
A neighbor said he heard gang lingo after the device was thrown.
Bridge was in fair condition at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento, a hospital spokeswoman said late Saturday, while police said her son is in extremely critical condition.
Police arrested Thomas Mason, 21, around 6 p.m. at his home in the 9400 block of Hickock Drive on a charge of attempted murder. His brother, Chauncy Mason, 24, of Stockton was at large late Saturday.
Neighbors said Jamal was standing in the doorway of the first-story apartment with his mother behind him when the bottle was thrown. It shattered just in front of the doorway, the flaming liquid inside covering his body and spraying on his mother's legs. A couch inside and the carpet also caught fire.
A neighbor said Bridge's boyfriend, who also lives at the apartment, was arguing on the phone with Thomas Mason a couple of hours before the attack. People told the boyfriend to hang up, the neighbor said, but the boyfriend said he would deal with the issue. He then got off the phone, saying the problem was resolved. Chauncy Mason is described as black, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 200 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Anyone with information is asked to call Stockton police at 937-8377.
* To reach reporter Eric Louie, phone 546-8296 or e-mail elouie@recordnet.com