Chemistry student injects 'chemical agent' on neighbor's doorstep

Chemistry student injects ‘chemical agent’ on neighbor’s doorstep

By Laura Parnaby

Updated: 11:13 EDT, 25 August 2023

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A PhD chemistry student has been caught on camera appearing to inject opioids into a family home after complaining about them making noise. Neighbor from hell Xuming Li (pictured centre) allegedly contaminated the Florida family’s doorstep with so much ‘chemical agent’ their baby got sick. The recent University of Southern Florida graduate was caught on camera after the family planted a hidden lens in a potted houseplant outside their home.

Shocking footage shows him loading up a syringe, before crouching down and appearing to inject a clear substance beneath the door. Umar Abdullah (pictured), who lives in the Tampa home with his wife and baby daughter, said he was shocked by Li’s behavior because he seemed like a ‘regular guy’. Abdullah moved into the condo with his pregnant wife in June 2022 and they were warmly welcomed by other residents in the building.

However, he soon began receiving texts from his disgruntled downstairs neighbor, Li, who lamented over losing sleep and hearing the toilet seat move. After months of complaints, Abdullah said he, his wife and daughter began feeling sick and dizzy. ‘I look at my daughter,’ Abdullah told WTLA. ‘Her eyes were full of tears. She was not crying, but her eyes were full of tears.’ The family were baffled about what was causing their mystery illness, until a friend visited and pointed out an ‘obnoxious’ smell in their home, Abdullah said.

He began investigating, starting by calling his air conditioning company, who found no issues. Abdullah then called a plumber, believing the smell to be coming from his water heater – but that also came out clear. His landlord even replaced the heater and had his air ducts and vents cleaned – but the chemical smell persisted. Desperate to find out what was plaguing his family home, Abdullah even called the fire department – but their tests drew a blank. He became increasingly determined to find the source of the smell. ‘I was sniffing the place like a dog,’ he said.

The sniff test led him to his doorway, where he found a small crack in the corner. Only now beginning to suspect some form of tampering had taken place, Abdullah set up a hidden camera in a potted plant outside his door. His daughter became sick again, prompting Yi to check the footage – and he was shocked by what he saw. ‘We were shaking,’ Abdullah told WFLA. ‘We can’t imagine that he is coming and doing something.’ The footage showed Li, wearing casual tracksuit bottoms, crouching and appearing to place something beneath their door. He adjusted the camera angle from door-level to eye level to catch what Li was doing in the moments before.

This time, his footage showed Yi appearing to take a syringe out, fill it with clear liquid, and inject it into the crack in Abdullah’s door frame. The worried father immediately got his family out of the house and called police. Tampa Police arrested the PhD student and slapped him with several felony charges, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance and burglary. A hazmat investigation revealed a ‘liquid chemical agent’ containing methadone and hydrocodone – opioid pain medications – had pervading their home. Li graduated from the University of Southern Florida in summer 2023 as a PhD chemistry student, the school told WFLA. According to his LinkedIn, Li touts himself as ‘an innovative and goal-driven chemist’.

‘I like facing new challenges in research, and I believe the ability of learning new things will be the most important factor in self-improvement,’ his profile states. ‘I hope to work in a harmony atmosphere that people will work together to solve challenging task.’ Li was bailed by the court and is scheduled to appear next on December 5.