Restaurateur Badly Burned in Attack

A restaurant owner was clinging to life Monday after someone apparently doused him with a flammable liquid that ignited, authorities said.

Mumtaz Fazli, 45, was rushed to Simi Valley Hospital, where the chemical fumes prompted hospital officials to close the emergency room for 90 minutes, officials said. Fazli was airlifted Monday to Sherman Oaks Burn Center.

Authorities are still trying to piece together the Sunday night attack. Fazli told authorities at the hospital he was trying to close his Walck-In restaurant on Kuehner Drive when someone opened a back door and tossed the liquid on him.

How the fire started is also unclear, but Simi Valley Police Officer Neil Rein said Fazli could have been standing near the water heater, which ignited the gasoline.

The badly injured Fazli stumbled out of the burning restaurant and into a neighboring liquor store, police said. The store’s owner drove him to the hospital, where he was treated for second- and third-degree burns over his face, chest and arms, police said.

Hospital officials said they do not know what substance Fazli was doused with. As a precaution, officials evacuated the emergency room while the Fire Department’s hazardous-materials team checked for toxic chemicals in the air, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Ventura County Fire Department investigators were still analyzing the substance late Monday, but police said the substance appears to be gasoline.