Self-immolation on Capitol Hill

[iranigirl2]

WASHINGTON -- A man lit himself on fire Friday just outside the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, prompting a group of bystanders to put out the blaze with their shirts, witnesses said.


The man, who has not been identified, was taken by helicopter to an area hospital.

When D.C. resident Nicole Didyk approached the scene, she said she saw "flames on the Mall. ... Not like shooting flames, but the grass was on fire."

Didyk said she saw four or five men with their shirts off, using the clothing to beat out flames that were engulfing a man’s body. The men putting out the fire were passersby, she said, and one of them told her that the man had "saluted the Capitol and then lit himself on fire."

One of the men putting out the flames told Didyk that the man said thank you after the flames were extinguished.

"I'm shooken up," Didyk said. "I mean, it's scary."

Meghan van Heertum, who was visiting Washington on vacation from Wassau, Wis., said the fire had been extinguished by the time she arrived at the scene but that the man did not appear to be moving before he was taken away.

Van Heertum, an emergency room nurse, said she saw a group of people huddled trying to put out a fire.

"I smelled burnt flesh and put two and two together," she said.

She said the whole incident seemed to last no more than 15 or 20 minutes.

Police said the man lit himself on fire at about 4:24 p.m. but did not provide any other information. They said they did not know the man's condition.



Man sets himself on fire on Washington's National Mall - latimes.com

 

[iranigirl2]

Man who set himself on fire in Washington has died

WASHINGTON — A man who apparently set himself on fire on the National Mall has died from his injuries, police said Saturday, and his motive remains a mystery.


The man's identity is still unknown, said Araz Alali, a spokesman for the District of Columbia police. Investigators will use DNA and dental records to try to identify the body.

He had "grave burns encircling most of his body," Alali said.

Witnesses said the man poured a can of gasoline or other flammable material over himself before he apparently set himself ablaze about 4:30 p.m. Friday on a grassy area outside the National Air and Space Museum.

Joggers and other bystanders on the Mall rushed to his aid.

District resident Nicole Didyk said she saw four or five men use their shirts to try to beat out flames that engulfed the man’s body and that set nearby grass on fire.

Didyk said one of the men told her the man had "saluted the Capitol and then lit himself on fire." One of the men also told Didyk that the man said, "Thank you" after the flames were extinguished.

The man was rushed by helicopter to the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where he died about 9 p.m. Friday.

Alali could not provide details about any potential evidence found near the man. Some reports have suggested he may have tried to film his immolation.

The incident further unnerved a city on edge due to the Sept. 16 mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, and the high-speed car chase near the Capitol on Thursday that ended when police shot and killed the driver, an unarmed woman.


Man who set himself on fire in Washington has died - latimes.com