Man tries lighting co-worker on fire with makeshift flamethrower, Texas cops say

A man tried to light his co-worker on fire while accusing him of an incident involving his overseas mother, Texas authorities say.

The encounter between the two men happened April 21 at the Imperial Star Solar factory in Tomball, where 28-year-old Khalid Elhindi works with the victim on separate assembly lines, according to court records.

Elhindi approached the victim in the parking lot and confirmed his identity before pulling “out a Gatorade bottle filled with gasoline” and spraying it on him, authorities said.

He then began trying to ignite a can of Lysol as a torch with a cigarette lighter, according to the court documents.

The victim was not caught on fire because Elhindi was unable to spark the lighter, authorities said. But when the co-worker fell, Elhindi began to punch “him repeatedly in (the) face.”

Officers said the altercation was broken up, and the victim was discovered to have possibly broken his left ankle. He also suffered bruising to his eyes and cheeks, and his eyes burned from the gasoline thrown on him, according to the court documents.

The victim told officers Elhindi accused him of “something involving” his mother in Sudan, but he said he did not know his mom, nor has he ever been to the African country, police said.

Elhindi was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, court records show. He remains in the Harris County Jail as of April 23.

Tomball is about a 35-mile drive northwest from downtown Houston.