Seattle police arrested a 24-year-old man Tuesday night after he allegedly threatened to burn a 60-year-old deaf woman’s face with a torch lighter inside a home on the 400 block of 10th Avenue. The woman was not physically injured, and officers detained the suspect at the scene before booking him into King County Jail on a felony assault charge.
Police Say Flame Came Within Inches of Victim’s Eye
According to Seattle police, officers were called around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday to a home on the 400 block of 10th Avenue for a reported assault. The department said the suspect pulled a torch lighter from his pocket, held it up to the woman’s face and ignited it. The victim later indicated that the flame had been roughly two inches from her eye, according to the police report.
Officers seized two torch lighters as evidence and booked the 24-year-old on a felony assault allegation. Detectives in the Homicide & Assault Unit referred the case to the City Attorney’s Office for charging review, per the Seattle Police Department on X.
Why Torch Lighters Are So Dangerous
Torch lighters are not typical pocket lighters. Many consumer butane micro-torches produce a focused blue flame that can reach temperatures near 2,500°F, hot enough to cause severe burns to skin and eyes in very little time. Technical references note that consumer butane torches can exceed 1,300°C, which helps explain why police take reports of torch-style lighters used as weapons so seriously, according to Wikipedia.
Recent Local Incidents Involving Torch-Style Lighters
Seattle police have previously documented incidents involving torch-style lighters and small fires, underscoring the risk when these tools are turned on people instead of projects. For instance, a July 2025 entry on the department’s official blotter describes a call in which a suspect reportedly assaulted officers with a butane torch lighter, per the SPD Blotter.
Legal Status of the Case
Officers booked the suspect into King County Jail for felony assault and documented the incident under case number 2026-95207. Detectives then referred the file to the City Attorney’s Office for charging review, according to the Seattle Police Department on X. The police post also notes that the suspect is a convicted felon, a detail prosecutors may weigh when considering charges and any bail recommendations.
