A man from Texas threatened to set his 73-year-old mother on fire after she refused to give him money. He also threw an “acidic substance” and a Molotov cocktail at police officers when they came to arrest him the following day.
James Andrew Woerner, 38, is facing multiple charges after an incident on Friday. He broke into his mother’s house, demanding she withdraw money from an ATM for him, as reported by KENS. When she refused, he threatened to burn her alive and then forced her into a car, according to court documents.
Inside the car, he hit her and threatened to crash, killing them both.
The elderly woman leapt from the moving vehicle to escape her violent son.
On Saturday, Woerner’s father informed the police of his whereabouts but warned them that his son had threatened to hurl “nitric acid” at officers. Upon their arrival, Woerner did splash an acidic substance at an officer, causing it to “sizzle” upon contact with the floor. While hurling additional acid, he shouted, “Everyone is going to die!” and proceeded to throw an incendiary device at the officers.
Three police officers sustained minor injuries.
While officers protected themselves from the attack, Woerner barricaded himself inside an apartment complex building and refused to come out until SWAT officers forced him out, according to KSAT.
News reports only named the aggravated assault against a public servant and obstruction charges and not those for the initial attack against Woerner’s mother, but jail records say he was charged with intentional bodily injury to an elderly person and assault on a family member. The mother’s condition was also not reported. Woerner was given a $40,000 bail.
