City Offers Reward in March Firebombing
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a March 16 firebombing of a Woodman Avenue apartment that left two children seriously injured, the City Council said Friday.
Although both children are now recovering, Rafi Moshe, 10, initially needed the aid of a respirator for several days in the intensive care unit of Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center due to smoke inhalation and first-, second- and third-degree burns on about 10% of his body, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The boy’s sister, Chaya Moshe, 9, suffered first- and second-degree burns on about 10% of her body and was treated and released from Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, a spokesman there said.
“We need the public’s help to solve this horrific crime,” Fire Chief William R. Bamattre said in a statement.
The fire occurred when someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the apartment window in the 5000 block of Woodman Avenue just after 1 a.m. March 16. Neighbors reported hearing shattering glass and seeing a dark Nissan sedan hurrying from an alley just below the children’s room, police said.
Rafi escaped into the living room and left the apartment with his mother while Chaya jumped from the bedroom window into the arms of three men coaching her from the alley.
The damage to the home was estimated at $10,000.
Anyone with information about this firebombing should contact a Fire Department hotline at (213) 621-9967.
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