The four-term councilman suffered second- and third-degree burns covering up to 60% of his body, mostly on his torso, after alleged assailant Shotsie Michale Buck Hayes barged into Vogler’s workplace, drenched him with a five-gallon jug of fuel, chased him outside and then torched him.

Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes allegedly confronted Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, 38, at his office at Showcase Magazine on Wednesday and covered him with a flammable liquid, the Danville Police Department said. Both went outside, where Buck-Hayes allegedly set Vogler on fire, police said.

A man accused of dousing a Virginia city councilman with gasoline and setting him on fire told investigators he intended the attack to be fatal, according to charging documents released Thursday. Police say the motive appears personal and unrelated to Councilman Lee Vogler's work in public office.