A Maryland man is facing an attempted murder charge after police say he threw sulfuric acid on his roommate, leaving her in critical condition with serious burns to her face and body.
Bekre Abdela, 28, is accused of throwing the acid onto a woman during an argument Saturday night at the boarding house where they both lived in Hyattsville.
The victim ran out of the house screaming, a witness told News4.
"Help me, help me, please," a neighbor said the woman called out.
She ran out of the house nearly naked because the acid had scorched her clothes, according to the neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
“You could just see the shininess to her body,” the neighbor said.
Prince George's County officers were called to the 1000 block of East-West Highway at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of a roommate dispute. When they arrived, they found the woman suffering from second- and third-degree burns.
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By the time police arrived, Abdela, the suspect, had already left.
Police found him two days later. They say he confessed to the attack. The crime, including his motive, are still under investigation.
The victim’s neighbor said was always had been concerned about Abdela.
"You could find him walking around the yard talking to himself, walking back and forth up and down the street, talking to himself like he was on a cellphone, but he wasn't," she said.
Abdela was held without bond.
“This is an egregious crime and somebody who does something like this, we don’t want on our streets at all," Cpl. Lamar Robinson said.
Anyone with information that can help police is asked to call 301-699-2601.
