Manassas Journal Messenger | Firebomb fails on Manassas home

Someone tried to firebomb a home in the Point of Woods section of Manassas on Monday morning, city fire marshals said.

A bottle filled with a potentially flammable liquid was thrown into a house in the 8500 block of Liberia Avenue around 12:30 a.m. while another bottle was later found outside the house, said Richard Boyd, chief fire marshal.

There were no injuries or severe damage to the house, Boyd said, and fire marshals are looking for anyone with information to come forward.

The incident is the latest in the Point of Woods section, which has had two shootings and a robbery in the past four months.

In the attempted firebombing, the home’s residents were asleep when they heard glass break in their kitchen.

When they went to the kitchen, they smelled something similar to gasoline and found a window shattered.

The bottle, which had a wick attached, was broken on the floor. The wick had not been lit.

Manassas City police and fire marshals found a similar bottle in bushes next to the house. The bottle had a wick, which also had not been lit.

The bottles have been sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laboratory in Maryland for analysis.

Fire marshals have not yet determined what exactly was in the bottles.

Fire marshals ask that anyone with information call Crime Solvers at (703) 330-0330. Callers do not have to give their names or testify in court and may receive a reward of up to $1,000 for information that results in an arrest.

People can also call the fire marshal’s office directly at (703) 257-8233.

Police are still searching for information on the other incidents in the Point of Woods section since Nov. 1.

In the first incident, a man was shot on Liberia Avenue near Landgreen Street on the night of Nov. 1 during a robbery.

Then on Jan. 6, a man attacked a woman and stole her purse outside her home in the 8500 block of Fairfax Street as she was entering her house.

On Jan. 17, a woman reported that a man in a black mask tried to rob her while she was walking home from work in the 8600 block of Liberia Avenue.

In the latest incident before Monday’s attempted firebombing, a man was shot in the chest while sitting in his car in the 8400 block of McKenzie Circle.