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发帖数: 28562 | 1 Man sets himself on fire on the National Mall
http://news.yahoo.com/man-sets-himself-fire-national-mall-21161
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man set himself on fire on the National Mall in the
nation's capital as passers-by rushed over to help douse the flames,
officials and witnesses said Friday afternoon.
The reason for the self-immolation was not immediately clear and the man's
identity was not disclosed. But it occurred in public view, on a central
national gathering place, in a city still rattled by a mass shooting last
month and a high-speed car chase outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday that
ended with a woman being shot dead by police.
The man on the Mall suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to
the hospital, said District of Columbia fire department spokesman Tim Wilson.
He was standing by himself in the center portion of the Mall when he emptied
the contents of a red gasoline can on himself and set himself on fire
moments later, said Katy Scheflen, who witnessed it as she walked across the
area. Police say they responded around 4:20 p.m. Friday.
Scheflen said passing joggers took off their shirts in an effort to help
douse the flames, and the man was clearly alive as the fire spread. A police
department spokesman said he was conscious and breathing at the scene.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center tweeted that the man was taken there but
had no condition update.
"There was not a lot people could do because it was a gasoline fire,"
Scheflen said.
She said he may have said something before he acted "but it was nothing
intelligible." She said she did not see him holding any signs before he set
himself ablaze.
"I'm not aware of any signage or any articulation of any causes," said Lt.
Pamela Smith of the U.S. Park Police, which is investigating along with the
D.C. police department.
The D.C. police department has dispatched its violent crimes branch, which
responds to cases in which a person suffers serious injury. |
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