Gasoline attack at Shell station in Merlo
A terrifying scene unfolded Sunday afternoon at a Shell gas station on Avenida Ricardo Balbín 5147 in the Pompeya neighborhood of Merlo, Buenos Aires province. A 20-year-old man arrived with a jerrycan and asked an attendant to fill it with gasoline. After the employee finished and returned the hose to the pump, the young man took the jerrycan and began spraying fuel onto a gray car parked at the next island, also splashing the driver who had stepped out to refuel. He then continued spreading gasoline across the forecourt and climbed into the gray car, sitting in the driver's seat with the jerrycan before getting out and threatening to set the station on fire.[S1][S2]
As bystanders shouted for him to calm down, the man got back into the car and closed the door. Two station employees sprang into action: one discharged a fire extinguisher's powder onto the vehicle as a precaution against ignition, while the other removed the hose from the fuel tank that was being filled. Police officers from the Merlo Patrol Command and the Barrio Pompeya precinct arrived after being alerted by staff and subdued the young man. He was identified as Diego Lisandro Juárez and taken to a police station. The case was placed under the jurisdiction of the Public Prosecutor's Office under the initial classification of investigation of an illicit act.[S1][S2]
Medical examinations confirmed that the detainee suffers from psychiatric problems, and doctors advised his family that he should be hospitalized. Judicial and health authorities immediately began the necessary procedures for his subsequent admission to a specialized center. No injuries or serious consequences were reported, thanks to the rapid intervention of employees and the prompt arrival of law enforcement.[S1][S2]
