A woman enraged over a missing cell phone set fire to a pile of clothes in an East Harlem apartment Friday, igniting a blaze that left a man in critical condition, police said.
Manuella Lopez, 21, grabbed the garments inside a female friend’s eighth-floor flat in the DeWitt Clinton Houses, doused them in gasoline and then tossed her lit cigarette onto the pile shortly after 1 a.m., cops said.
Responding firefighters rescued a man from the apartment who had suffered severe burns. He was rushed to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, where doctors said he was in grave condition, officials said. Four other people, including an infant, were treated for minor injuries.
Cops charged Lopez with assault, arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
Neighbors said police brought the suspect out of the building in handcuffs. Police said charges were pending Friday night.
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