Lansdowne brothers charged in Upper Darby firebombing

If you're unfamiliar with the rules of Internet etiquette, the Upper Darby Police Department has this friendly reminder:

It is not OK to firebomb a woman's bedroom if she rejects your advances on Facebook.

That didn't stop Sinuhe Schultz, 19, and his brother, Miguel, 17, of Lansdowne, from trying to burn down a woman's Houston Road rowhouse by launching Molotov cocktails through her window after she refused to date Sinuhe, police said.

"Apparently, he was trying to start a relationship up and she spurned that," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. "She didn't want anything to do with him, and he decided he was going to show her."

The brothers, who were born in Mexico and adopted as young children, were arraigned Sunday on charges of attempted homicide, assault, arson, risking a catastrophe and related offenses.

They've admitted to throwing the homemade bombs - consisting of glass jars, rags, gasoline and WD-40 - at the woman's bedroom window about 12:40 a.m. last Wednesday, according to court documents.

"They threw three up there and it broke the window and caught the inside curtain on fire. But the victim was able to extinguish it real quick. If not, it would have been a big-time problem," Chitwood said. "They tried to burn her out."

Calling the attack "crazy and ludicrous," Chitwood said the brothers could have caused a fire that spread to adjacent homes.

"We're devastated," said the boys' mother, Lee Schultz. "I am in shock that my younger son would follow his brother. I can only think that he might have been coerced or tricked or threatened. We're praying for them both."

Faceboook messages that Sinuhe Schultz allegedly sent to the victim helped investigators identify him as a suspect, Chitwood said. He bolted through a side door when police arrived at his parents' house, but was quickly apprehended by a Lansdowne officer, according to the criminal complaint.

"She's lucky she's alive, and lucky the house didn't burn down," Chitwood said.

No one answered the door yesterday at the Houston Street home where police say the attack occurred. A woman who answered the phone declined to comment, other than to say, "I'm satisfied with their arrest."

Struggling to hold back tears, Lee Schultz said yesterday that she was unaware of a motive for her sons' alleged actions. She said Sinuhe Schultz had been in trouble before, and had been kicked out of the house, but occasionally returned.

"They're two very different boys," she said. "It's just very, very heart-wrenching."