Memphis Man Accused of Setting Girlfriend on Fire After She Tried to Break Up with Him

A Tennessee man was arrested for allegedly setting his girlfriend on fire after police say she attempted to break up with him.

On Thursday, police were called to Regional One Hospital in Memphis on reports of a female domestic violence burn victim, Sergeant Louis C. Brownlee, Public Information Officer with the Memphis Police Department tells PEOPLE.

The victim had sustained second degree burns on her face, neck, chest and arms, Brownlee says. At the time, she was in critical condition. Her current state is not known.

When speaking to police, the victim identified her attacker as a man named Kenneth Upshaw, Brownlee says. She also detailed the alleged incident.

Brownlee says, that according to the woman, the altercation unfolded on Thursday when the woman — whose identity has not been revealed to the public — says she tried to end things with Upshaw at a location in the Westwood area of South Memphis.

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The woman told police that when she informed Upshaw that she did not want to be with him, he told her he "could not be without her,'" Brownlee says. As their conversation continued, things escalated with Brownlee saying: "The next thing she knew she was on fire. It happened so fast she did not know how it happened."

Following the alleged altercation, the victim was picked up by her sister and brought to her mother's house where she told her family members that Upshaw allegedly "poured gas" on her and lit her on fire, Brownlee tells PEOPLE. They then took the victim to Regional One Hospital.

On Thursday, sometime after the incident, Upshaw was taken to Shelby County Jail. He was charged with second-degree murder and domestic assault/bodily harm, according to records from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.