A Times Square food cart vendor accused of dousing a man in gasoline and setting him on fire was indicted in Manhattan on Monday after being nabbed on his return from spending eight months hiding out in Egypt after the horrific arson attack, prosecutors said.
Ahmad Mossad, 23, was charged with first-degree attempted murder and assault for allegedly attacking a 45-year-old club promoter on March 16 after the two men briefly interacted at his food cart by the Nebula nightclub on W. 41st St. near Broadway.
NYPD officers arrested Mossad after he stepped off a flight at JFK on Nov. 25 under suspicion of carrying out the arson attack, which left the victim, Mark Whyte, with third-degree burns across 20% of his body. Police sources previously told the Daily News the food cart belonged to Mossad’s uncle.
Prosecutors allege that after some kind of dispute between the two men, Mossad filled a small water bottle with gasoline from the food cart and paced up and down the sidewalk waiting to pounce on the victim.
They crossed paths again, separating before Mossad located the victim, doused him in gasoline, and used a lighter to set him ablaze, prosecutors allege.
The victim began screaming for help and ran through Times Square, engulfed in flames. Two cops put out the flames and transported him to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. He then spent weeks under a medically induced coma. Whyte could not be reached for comment Monday.
In the wake of the attack, a woman who identified herself to The News as the wife of the owner of the food cart said the victim was a frequent customer who had “pissed off” the suspect.
“He’s never gonna come back,” she said in Arabic of the suspect.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in a statement, said the New Jersey-based Mossad fled to Egypt within hours.
“This alleged attempted murder is absolutely heinous,” the DA said.
“The defendant allegedly sought to evade accountability for more than eight months by immediately flying overseas to Egypt but was eventually apprehended thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors and the NYPD. I know the victim has suffered excruciatingly painful injuries as a result of this incident, and I hope he can continue to improve and recover.”
The Daily News reached out to an attorney for Mossad for comment. He is next due in court Jan. 28.
