A man from Tampa was detained after allegedly injecting opioids under the door of a unit where a family was staying. A surveillance camera documented his evil deed.
Reports state that Xuming Li, 23, had been detained and was being charged with various felonies.
According to Umar Abdullah, their downstairs neighbor Li began complaining not long after the birth of their child.
There were too many footsteps, he said. Abdullah said that Li complained about the noise created by the doors shutting. He said he and the landlady tried a mock test and had difficulty hearing anything.
Later, everyone in the family became sick immediately for no apparent reason.
Abdullah mentioned that his daughter had tears in her eyes but was not crying. There were no outward signs of emotion, but her eyes were clearly watering. Then, a friend picked up a parcel while they were on vacation. He noted a chemical odor. When Abdullah’s family returned, he said he smelled the odor, too.
The heating, cooling, and water-heating systems were all ruled out, all passing the examination.
After a respite, Abdullah reported that the chemical smell had returned. He thought someone was perhaps doing something from the outside, so he set up a covert camera.
Abdullah speculated that they might have died without discovering the criminal act on tape.
Li’s attorney said his client pled not guilty and that the truth will emerge soon.
Methadone and hydrocodone were identified in a liquid chemical agent that was detected by a hazmat test, according to the Tampa police.
WFLA-TV reports that one officer who came into contact with the liquid developed a rash.
At USF, Li is pursuing a doctorate in chemistry.
The university noted that he hasn’t been seen since the summer and stressed that the chemicals discovered in the Abdullahs’ basement aren’t kept in any of the university’s laboratories.
An additional potentially lethal agent, such as chloroform, may have been mixed in with the two medications, according to Benjamin Chemel, a visiting assistant professor of chemistry at Eckerd College.
