Maryland Man Who Set Himself On Fire In Washington D.C. Succumbs To His Injuries
On Wednesday, a man shocked onlookers in a park area, the Ellipse, that lies south of the White House as he walked across an area of the land while on fire. He was taken to the hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
Arnav Gupta, 33, of Bethesda, Maryland, calmly walked in front of park visitors at around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday. Footage of the incident was taken and posted online, such as the following one.
Warning, the following content below is graphic.
WARNING : GRAPHIC VIDEO - An unidentified man set himself on fire early Wednesday afternoon in front of sightseers on the Ellipse park in downtown Washington, D.C., not far from the #WhiteHouse, authorities said.#manonfire #fire #DonaldTrump#whitehousefire pic.twitter.com/FSzsprh61O
— Flix Talk (@itsflixtalk) May 29, 2019
In a tweet on Wednesday, the Secret Service confirmed the apparent self-immolation.
At approximately 12:20 p.m. a man lit himself on fire on the Ellipse near 15th and Constitution Ave., Secret Service personnel are on scene assisting @NatlParkService and @usparkpolicepio in rendering first aid.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) May 29, 2019
A spokesman for the Washington, D.C., fire department said first responders managed to extinguish the fire, and Gupta was arrested by police. TMZ reports he was then taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after suffering burns to 85 percent of his body. Gupta died in hospital on Wednesday night.
Sgt. Eduardo Delgado, a spokesman for the Park Police, said investigators do not know the man's motive at the time.
However, cops in Maryland did say in a media release early Wednesday, prior to the incident, that they were "concerned for Gupta's physical and emotional welfare." They also asked for public assistance in learning his whereabouts.
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