22-year-old teacher in ICU after arsonist firebombs her home in Clayton County

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A schoolteacher is in the ICU after investigators say someone firebombed her home.

Neighbors in the Riverdale neighborhood told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that the explosion was like something out of a movie.

One of those firebombs went into the bedroom of Clayton County teacher Adreana Swanson.

The second went in the front window, investigators say, to keep those inside from getting out.

Detectives want the person who tossed those firebombs off the streets.

It was an early morning fire that startled people who live in the neighborhood when they realized one of their neighbors suffered serious burns.

“I just heard a loud boom while I was sleeping,” one neighbor said, asking not to be identified. “If she wasn’t fast to run out, she would have been dead.”

Investigators say that Swanson is lucky to be alive and determined that this was the act of an arsonist.

“Anybody could have died. There was two people inside of the home,” said Detective Kamie McKay with the Riverdale Police Department.

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Police gave Jones surveillance video they say shows a flash of fire on Derby Drive around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 20.

Then someone ran away.

Authorities say their suspect was intent on making sure no one survived.

“It seems to us it was a targeting situation where there was an accelerant that went through the top window and an accelerant that went through the bottom window,” McKay said.

The firebomb that hit the top of the house went into Swanson’s bedroom, leaving massive damage behind.

Neighbors said Swanson was in shock.

“She was just saying, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I cannot believe this is happening,’” the neighbor told Jones.

The fire was so intense it threatened the homes next to it. Neighbors want the person responsible off the streets.

“We hope they catch this person, because this person was committing a murder,” the neighbor said.

Swanson remains in the ICU, but detectives say she is past the critical stage.

Police are working to find out who did this. They say a man in white pants with a black shirt and COVID-19 mask left the scene.

Officers want you to contact Crime Stoppers if you have any information on this case at 404-577-8477.

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