Hiker of Appalachian trail set on fire in Gettysburg PA

[alancar]

http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/UPDATE-2-Hiker-who-was-set-on-fire-recovering-at/W_oqco4kdkq85RJMtSKWvA.cspx A hiker has been flown back to Alabama after police say two men set him on fire in Gettysburg.

 

The crime is disturbing, two men accused of lighting the man on fire. But police say the community stepped up to help after hearing about the incident.

 

Gettysburg Police say they still dont know who set the man on fire. It happened Thursday around 1 a.m.

 

Police say the man from Alabama was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He was stopping in Gettysburg to get supplies.

[SMT224]

From the story...

"It happened Thursday around 1 a.m. While walking down Baltimore Street, police say a car of people drove past and called the man homeless. The man responded, then tried to duck into an alley when he saw the car turn around."

 

This could have happened anywhere and does not appear to be directly linked to hiking the AT. It sounds like the kind of confrontation that unfortunately can happen at 1 in the morning... a car full of kids calls someone a name who responds and then an altercation ensues. Tragic, but I do not see this as a red flag for AT hikers. It is likely the perps will be IDed in a small community like Gettysburg.

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, hmmm...

 

A group of 5 people pour accelerant on a man and set him on fire because they think he's homeless? Homelessness merits being burned alive? That is so very hard to fathom.

 

Please, God, let us do our job in Scoutin' so that we raise young men (and women) to view people have less than they do with compassion and care, and to consider those who dress differently as potential friends, rather than potential victims.

 

God bless the good folks of Gettysburg who stepped up to help the sojourner in his time of need. It's worth rememberin' that Sodom and Gemorrah were not in the end destroyed for their sexual practices. The were condemned by God for their lack of care and hospitality to the strangers in their midst.

 

Beavah

 

[Basementdweller]

Beavah, less than 3% of available youth are in scouting in my neighborhood

 

While it is better than zero.....Tough to make a difference with only 3%

 

 

After dark nothing good goes on in my neighborhood......if your out at 1AM your asking for it or up to no good......

 

I tell my son and scouts......Nothing good goes on after midnight.......I take mr glock with me if I am out to the grocery after dark have had occasion to draw once....

 

Strange town...walking the streets at 1am......Naw, I am too street smart for that.