The Washington D.C. man who set himself on fire Friday has succumbed to his injuries, according to multiple media outlets.
Several reports and eyewitness accounts indicated that a man set himself on fire at the National Mall in Washington D.C. yesterday afternoon. He had a gasoline can with him, proceeded to empty it on himself, and then set himself on fire.
Witness Vanessa Sink eerily tweeted that the man appeared to be “dancing.”
A jogger and another bystander quickly intervened and put the man out. Emergency services arrived, and a U.S. Park Police helicopter airlifted him to the hospital. Fire Department spokesman Timothy J. Wilson told the Washington Post that the man had “life threatening injuries.”
He was listed in critical condition with extensive burns late yesterday. The Associated Press reported at 11:05 AM ET Saturday that he had succumbed to his injuries and died late Friday night.
Authorities said that he was so badly burned that he’ll need to be identified by DNA and dental records.
Police are still investigating a motive for the D.C. man who set himself on fire Friday.
One of the witnesses on the scene told CNN that he was sitting down, not unlike the infamous “burning monk” protest that took place in Saigon in 1963.
“I saw a man sitting in flames,” said Adam Stifel, a jogger who helped put the man out. “He had already doused himself in gasoline, I believe.”
Though the self-immolation is believed to have been intentional, authorities have not indicated whether the man’s actions were a form of political protest.
Reuters’ Myles Miller wrote “The man apparently burned himself as an act of protest,” on Twitter, though didn’t go into any more detail.
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