Virginia City Councilman Set On Fire In ‘Personal’ Attack

A Virginia councilman was set on fire in an apparent personal attack at his office on Wednesday, authorities said. The attacker allegedly poured a five-gallon bucket of gas over Lee Vogler, a Danville city councilman, after forcing his way into his workplace at Showcase Magazine, according to WBTM. The suspect, Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, allegedly confronted Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, 38, at his office and doused him with a flammable liquid, the Danville Police Department said. Both went outside where Hayes allegedly set Vogler on fire, police said. Hayes, 29, of Danville, is in custody, police said. Vogler has been transferred to a hospital in North Carolina in unknown condition, police said. ABC News reports that it appears Vogler and Hayes know each other “and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation,” police said. “Lee is awake and talking, and is en route to the burns center in Lynchburg,” Showcase Magazine publisher Andrew Brooks said through tears in a video published on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon. “Our hearts and prayers are with him,” he went on. “We don’t really know what to say.”