Last Monday night, Scott Rowin stopped by The Loft on Fifth Avenue in San Diego and inquired about a job. He left past 8 p.m. and headed south, towards his downtown apartment, intending to call an Uber.

His memory is hazy, but somewhere within a few blocks, he heard what sounded like two people yelling gay slurs.

“Started hearing f*** this, f*** that.

Moments later, he heard footsteps behind him.

As he turned around, he says he caught a quick glimpse of one of the people, a man in his 20s or 30s. At the same time, he says a liquid was thrown at him, with the consistency of water.

“Immediately after that, I went up like coals on a barbecue. It started off really big,” said Rowin.

On fire, Rowin says stopped, dropped, and rolled on the cement, patting himself and quickly putting out the flames.

“Just in survival mode. Just in the zone, I have to save my life,” said Rowin.

Rowin suffered second-degree burns, mostly along his side and back. It’s unclear if he’ll need surgery.

“This is absolutely a hate crime. The slurs were hate-filled,” said Rowin. “Nobody walks around with flammable liquid like without an agenda. In my opinion, they were obliviously out there targeting the LGBT community,” said Rowin.