Lit Bucket of Gas Ignites Search for Bridgeview Match Tosser

Bridgeview police are looking for man who threw a match into a bucket of flammable liquid inside a gas station, sparking a K9 and air search for the culprit.

Around 9 p.m. Sunday, police said a white male wearing a baseball cap walked into the BP station mini-mart at 7960 W. 79th St., carrying a large plastic Menards bucket.

According to the clerk, the man set the bucket on the floor full of a flammable liquid that police believe to be gasoline. The man tossed a match into the bucket and then ran out of the gas station.

The clerk was able to grab a fire extinguisher and quickly put out the fire. There were no injuries and the BP station was not damaged.

The man, described in his 30s, was last seen running north on Roberts Road, then veering east into neighborhood side streets.

“Because he was on foot, police brought in a canine unit and a Cook County helicopter to see if we could find him,” said Ray Hanania, spokesman for the Bridgeview Police Department. “We’re mentioning he was carrying a Menard’s bucket in case someone saw the suspect walking around with a bucket before the incident.

Residents reported seeing helicopters, and police and SWAT team members on every corner along Roberts Road between 79th Street and 75th Streets. Police were not able to find the man.

The incident is under investigation. Anyone with useful information about the match-tossing is asked to call the Bridgeview Police Department at 708-458-2131