Lee Vogler, a city council member in Danville, Virginia, was set on fire by a man who entered the office of a local magazine where Vogler worked, police said Wednesday.
Investigators believe the attack stemmed from a “personal matter” and was unrelated to his politics or work as a councilman, authorities said. Police said the suspect entered Vogler’s office, where he works at a local magazine, confronted him and doused him in flammable liquid.
Both men then left the building and the 29-year-old suspect set Vogler on fire, police said.
Danville-va.gov
The attack took place at the office of Showcase Magazine, a monthly publication on southwest Virginia and North Carolina, magazine owner and publisher Andrew Brooks said.
In a video posted to the magazine’s Facebook page, Brooks said Vogler was awake and talking, and that he was on the way to a burn center in Lynchburg, a city about 70 miles from Danville.
Vogler, 38, became the youngest person ever elected to the Danville City Council at the age of 24, according to the city’s website.
The suspect, Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes of Danville, was in police custody. Police said charges were pending, and it wasn’t immediately known whether Hayes had a lawyer who could comment.
Brooks told The Associated Press that there were two employees at the magazine’s office at the time of the attack. The other employee called Brooks and told him what happened.
Allen G. Breed / AP 
“Our door is locked,” Brooks said. “They forced their way into the office, and went to Lee. The next thing, Lee is running through the office covered in gasoline, yelling for our officemate to call 911. The guy chased him outside and set him on fire.”
“There is no justification for lashing out,” Brooks added. “There is no amount [of] pain you can be under that can justify you inflicting violence on others.”
Vogler is a managing partner at the Andrew Brooks Media Group, a marketing firm that publishes several regional magazines and operates a branded merchandise website and a music publishing company, according to its website. He’s married with two children and he has served on the Danville City Council for more than 12 years and is currently serving his fourth term.
The city council consists of Mayor Alonzo Jones, Vice Mayor James Buckner and six other members. In a statement issued through Buckner, Jones said, “Our Council is close.”
“We’ve worked through challenges together-and now, we face this heartbreak together. Please continue to pray for Lee and his family. We’re standing with him-and with each other,” Jones said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “Our prayers go out to Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler who was violently attacked at his workplace earlier today. We pray for a swift recovery Lee and for peace to be on the entire Danville community.”
Vogler graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010 and returned to his hometown to run for office. He formed a group in 2010 called Moving Danville Forward to come up with ideas to revitalize the city.
Danville is about 140 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina.
