Homeless man is set afire in N.Y.

new york -- Detectives swept through the streets of East Harlem on Friday searching for three teenage boys suspected of setting fire to a homeless man, leaving him fighting for his life.

Police said Felix Najera, 48, suffered burns on his face, chest, arms and abdomen.

He was listed in critical condition Friday night, police said.

Early Friday, Najera was sleeping on a cardboard box in front of the Bethany Christian Church, when one teen lit his pants on fire with a cigarette lighter, police said. Najera jumped up, “causing him to be engulfed in flames,” said New York police spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves.

Friends and neighbors said they last saw Najera in front of the church, where he had been playing dominoes with friends.

“His two friends left him, and he stayed by himself,” said the Rev. Ariel Soto.

Soto tried for years to get Najera into a shelter and an alcohol treatment program, said Soto, the church’s pastor.

“He always told me he didn’t want to go,” Soto said.

“Poor man, he. . . did not do anyone any harm. He was always respectful.”

Other parts of the nation have seen recent spates of violence aimed at homeless people.

Some advocates for the homeless perceive a national trend.

In Cleveland, at least six homeless people were attacked during the first half of the year, one fatally.

A social worker said bands of men carrying baseball bats and pipes were confronting homeless people on the street.