A Texas family of eight has been left in terror after a hooded assailant dowsed their home in gasoline and set it ablaze in the middle of the night.
Disturbing surveillance footage captures a hooded individual approaching the residence’s front porch to execute a malicious scheme in the early hours of Tuesday morning, around 1am.
The perpetrator was observed dousing a highly combustible liquid across the entrance, windows, and garage before igniting it and swiftly departing as the fire engulfed the area.
At the time, everyone in Darryl Wilson’s house was asleep, with the exception of his 21-year-old daughter, Malia Rivera, who fortunately was awake and acted quickly to rescue her family.
Rivera, who was home for summer break from college, shared with Fox 4 that she noticed a flash of light and began heading downstairs to investigate the curious event.
She then made the horrifying discovery of flames swallowing the front of the house.
“I was halfway down the stairs when I saw this window [the front window] engulfed in flames, and I immediately ran to alert my dad,” she told the news outlet.
Rivera called 911 as Wilson tried taming the fire using large jugs of water until authorities arrived.
The culprit was seen pouring the highly flammable substance all over the front door, windows and garage (pictured)
The Midlothian home was burned by the front door and garage (pictured)
Darryl Wilson (right) and his wife Wahsheida (left) are devastated over the shocking incident
In the meantime, Wilson’s wife Wahsheida checked the security cameras and realized this was no accident.
‘I was shocked. I’m like, this can’t be real. Who would do this?’ she described her initial reaction to CBS.
Firefighters arrived promptly and managed to extinguish the remaining fire. Thankfully, no one was injured, and the damage was confined to the home’s exterior.
‘I just feel like, oh my God, what would have happened if it got in the house?’ Rivera said to Fox 4.
But the jarring event still haunts the home, as the garage door and outside windows are charred from the flames.
Aside from the physical damage to the house, the family has been in horror ever since.
‘I think they’re crazy…What made you even do this?’ Rivera said about the culprit, who is still on the loose.
‘It was in the middle of the night, everyone had just turned all their lights off, everyone is sleeping. The kids are sleeping.’
There were two children in the home at the time, including the Wilsons’ one-year-old granddaughter.
The family said they have no clue who would have done this to them, and the fact that this was an unprompted attack has made them feel unsafe in their own home.
The culprit was seen jogging away from the flames (pictured)
Malia Rivera (pictured), 21, was fortunately awake and jumped into action to save her family
The garage was left charred from the fire (pictured) and the family has decided to sell the house
The home’s front window was also damaged from the act of arson (pictured)
As a result of hooded man’s arson, the family has decided to put the house up for sale.
‘My kids don’t want to stay, my wife don’t want to stay, you know, they’re traumatized,’ Wilson told Fox 4.
‘It’s a hurting thing for someone to come to my home and do this, and I feel helpless as a father.
‘He’s lucky I didn’t catch him, he better hope the authorities get him.’
Until the family is able to relocate, they have been taking shifts staying up at night to watch the security cameras.
The police are investigating the flaming attack as an arson case.
‘Your intentions when you came and threw gas on the house and lit that fire. Your intentions was to kill us,’ Wahsheida told CBS, addressing the arsonist.
‘You have no soul. You’re a heartless person.’
