TAMPA, FLORIDA - In a shocking turn of events, Umar Abdullah, a resident of Tampa, Florida, recently uncovered a sinister act by his downstairs neighbor, Xuming Li, a student of chemistry.
Captured on a surveillance camera installed by Abdullah, Li was seen injecting a potentially lethal opioid agent into a gap in Abdullah's front door, leading to Li's arrest.
The Abdullah family, who moved to their new residence in Tampa in June 2022, faced an unusual series of complaints from Li shortly after settling down.
The grievance centered on noises emanating from the Abdullah residence, with Li specifically citing disturbances caused by the movement of a toilet, which he claimed disrupted his sleep.
However, the distressing chain of events did not stop at mere complaints. As the weeks went by, members of the Abdullah household began exhibiting alarming symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and bouts of vomiting.
In a heart-wrenching statement to local news channel WFLA, Umar Abdullah described a harrowing scene where his daughter's eyes welled up with tears despite not crying.
A peculiar chemical odor was first detected by a friend of Abdullah during a vacation drop-off, which further piqued their suspicions. Upon their return, the Abdullahs too discerned this odd smell. While it was likened to nail polish remover by some, Abdullah himself described it as much more "unpleasant."
Taking matters into his own hands, Abdullah initiated several home maintenance checks. He sought assistance from an air conditioning service provider, who found nothing amiss.
A subsequent examination by a plumber of the water heater – the suspected source of the smell – also turned up no anomalies. Even after cleaning the air ducts and vents, the mysterious and offensive odor persisted.
The breakthrough came when Abdullah detected a small fissure at the front door's corner, wide enough to accommodate a syringe. To confirm his suspicions, he installed a concealed camera outside his home.
Upon reviewing the footage, Abdullah stumbled upon the disturbing sight of Li crouching in front of his house. In clearer subsequent footage, Li was unmistakably seen extracting a syringe, filling it with an unidentified liquid, and then injecting it through the gap in Abdullah's door frame.
Acting swiftly, Abdullah evacuated his family and alerted the police. Following Li's arrest, he faced multiple charges including possession of a controlled substance and theft. Investigations by the Tampa Police Department unveiled that the injected "chemical agent" consisted of methadone and hydrocodone, both opioid pain relievers.
While Xuming Li is currently out on bail as per a WFLA report, he awaits his next court appearance slated for December 5. Apart from the criminal charges, Li also faces lawsuits from Abdullah for domestic violence and from the condo association for contract violation.
In a statement, Li's defense attorney highlighted that Li has entered a plea of not guilty, reassuring that the entire truth will emerge in due course.
