In a bizarre act that capped a nervous few days in Congress, a man poured gasoline on himself and lit himself on fire on the National Mall late Friday afternoon.
Flames and smoke from the self-immolating man near 7th Street and Jefferson Drive, SW, were visible from the Capitol, where some staffers watched the scene from west facing windows, just a day after a car chase that ended with the shooting death of a woman just outside the Hart Senate Office Building.
The incident happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday in between the Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery. Passing joggers rushed to the man's aid, several ripping off their shirts to help beat out the flames that burned 80% of his body, ABC reports.
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[h=4]Terry Hayes[/h][h=4]Passersby who saw the man rushed to his aid, several ripping off their shirts to help put out the flames.[/h]
The man reportedly thanked the joggers before he was taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center by a U.S. Park Police helicopter that landed on the Mall.
Fire department spokesman Tim Wilson said the man suffered life-threatening injuries, but was conscious and breathing at the scene.
Authorities are now investigating the man's motives.
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[h=4]Terry Hayes[/h][h=4]'A guy took his shirt off, ran over ... (to) start trying to beat the flames out,' a witness says. 'A couple other joggers also stopped to help.'[/h]
"I'm not aware of any signage or any articulation of any causes," said Lt. Pamela Smith of the U.S. Park Police, which has teamed up with the D.C. police department.
Tommy Hess, a tourist visiting his brother, said he was on the Mall, "milling around, because everything is closed due to the shutdown."
"I never expected to see anything like that," Hess said. "It's crazy."
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[h=4]Terry Hayes[/h][h=4]The man reportedly thanked the joggers who came to his aid before he was taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.[/h]
Katy Scheflen, a furloughed civil rights attorney in the Justice Department, said she stopped because she saw "a guy with a tripod set up."
Scheflen said another man, who she thought the tripod with a camera was filming, then took a red can of gasoline, poured it over his head.
"At that point we didn't know what was going, maybe it was some sort of stage protest," Scheflen said. "And then he set himself on fire and went up in flames," she said. "Whoosh."
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[h=4]Hand out[/h][h=4]The self-immolation left the man with burns on 80% of his body. Witnesses said his body was charred and his arms and face were white.[/h]
"I saw like a spark," she said. "Then he just went completely up in flames."
"Some heads up joggers put out the flames," she said. "A guy took his shirt off, ran over, you know, start trying to beat the flames out. A couple other joggers also stopped to help."
"It's very shocking," she said. "It's horrifying. Literally watching this guy go up in flames. There was not really anything anybody could do."
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[h=4]Vanessa Sink via Twitter[/h][h=4]The incident took place at the National Mall at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday.[/h]
Scheflen said the presence of a mounted camera gave her the impression "he was aware something was about to happen. Otherwise he was filming nothing but a guy standing there."
"It was obviously an intentional act, "She said. Somebody has a video of the whole thing."
Emily Cherry, a stay-at-home mom from Bristow, Va., was on the mall with her son Jackson, 2 and one-half years old, who was playing on the mall.
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[h=4]Joe Marino/New York Daily News[/h][h=4]Police officers found a red fuel can at the scene. The man reportedly poured a can of gasoline onto his clothes before lighting himself.[/h]
She said she saw the flames and at first thought it was a performance of some kind. "I grabbed him and kind of walked toward it," she said.
"Then I realized somebody's hurt and I heard people yelling 'water, water' so I called 911."
"I saw several people filming on their phones. I remember thinking' is no one calling 911, because they were all filming," Cherry said.
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[h=4]Vanessa Sink via Twitter[/h][h=4]A helicopter arrives on the scene. The man was then airlifted to a local hospital.[/h]
Cherry said she tried to distract her son once she realized what she was seeing.
"I don't know what he saw and understood," she said, still holding him thirty minutes later. "We tried to stay away."
While she explained, Jackson interrupted:
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[h=4]Joe Marino/New York Daily News[/h][h=4]The incident happened on the National Mall, in between the National Gallery of Art and the Air and Space Museum.[/h]
"Did I see him on fire?" he asked.
"He did have fire on him, sweetheart, yeah," Cherry told him.
"It hurts," Jackson said.
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[h=4]Joe Marino/ New York Daily News[/h][h=4]Police officers investigate the scene where a man set himself on fire in front of the U.S. Capitol building.[/h]
"It does, but the ambulance came and their gonna try to make him feel better," Cherry said.
With news wire services
This story is developing.
On a mobile device? Click here to view the video of a helicopter airlifting the man.
Click here to watch an ABC report.
Flames and smoke from the self-immolating man near 7th Street and Jefferson Drive, SW, were visible from the Capitol, where some staffers watched the scene from west facing windows, just a day after a car chase that ended with the shooting death of a woman just outside the Hart Senate Office Building.
The incident happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday in between the Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery. Passing joggers rushed to the man's aid, several ripping off their shirts to help beat out the flames that burned 80% of his body, ABC reports.
RELATED: WITNESSES TWEET EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOS OF CAPITOL HILL SHOOTING DRAMA
The man reportedly thanked the joggers before he was taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center by a U.S. Park Police helicopter that landed on the Mall.
Fire department spokesman Tim Wilson said the man suffered life-threatening injuries, but was conscious and breathing at the scene.
Authorities are now investigating the man's motives.
RELATED: CAPITOL SHOOTING: SLAIM MOM THOUGHT OBAMA PUT HER LIFE ON TV
"I'm not aware of any signage or any articulation of any causes," said Lt. Pamela Smith of the U.S. Park Police, which has teamed up with the D.C. police department.
Tommy Hess, a tourist visiting his brother, said he was on the Mall, "milling around, because everything is closed due to the shutdown."
"I never expected to see anything like that," Hess said. "It's crazy."
RELATED: VIOLENT INCIDENTS NOTHING NEW FOR U.S. CAPITOL
Katy Scheflen, a furloughed civil rights attorney in the Justice Department, said she stopped because she saw "a guy with a tripod set up."
Scheflen said another man, who she thought the tripod with a camera was filming, then took a red can of gasoline, poured it over his head.
"At that point we didn't know what was going, maybe it was some sort of stage protest," Scheflen said. "And then he set himself on fire and went up in flames," she said. "Whoosh."
RELATED: CAPITOL POLICE WHO RISKED LIVES AMID SHOOTING CURRENTLY UNPAID
"I saw like a spark," she said. "Then he just went completely up in flames."
"Some heads up joggers put out the flames," she said. "A guy took his shirt off, ran over, you know, start trying to beat the flames out. A couple other joggers also stopped to help."
"It's very shocking," she said. "It's horrifying. Literally watching this guy go up in flames. There was not really anything anybody could do."
RELATED: PFLAG FOUNDER JEANNE MANFORD DIES, FOUGHT FOR LGBT RIGHTS
Scheflen said the presence of a mounted camera gave her the impression "he was aware something was about to happen. Otherwise he was filming nothing but a guy standing there."
"It was obviously an intentional act, "She said. Somebody has a video of the whole thing."
Emily Cherry, a stay-at-home mom from Bristow, Va., was on the mall with her son Jackson, 2 and one-half years old, who was playing on the mall.
RELATED: VIRAL HIT: SUPPORTIVE DAD’S NOTE TO GAY SON
She said she saw the flames and at first thought it was a performance of some kind. "I grabbed him and kind of walked toward it," she said.
"Then I realized somebody's hurt and I heard people yelling 'water, water' so I called 911."
"I saw several people filming on their phones. I remember thinking' is no one calling 911, because they were all filming," Cherry said.
RELATED: UTAH MAN PROPOSES TO BOYFRIEND WITH A HOME DEPOT FLASH MOB
Cherry said she tried to distract her son once she realized what she was seeing.
"I don't know what he saw and understood," she said, still holding him thirty minutes later. "We tried to stay away."
While she explained, Jackson interrupted:
RELATED: LESBIAN COUPLE SUES LANDLORD FOR REFUSING TO ALLOW BOTH ON LEASE
"Did I see him on fire?" he asked.
"He did have fire on him, sweetheart, yeah," Cherry told him.
"It hurts," Jackson said.
RELATED: GRANDFATHER’S VIRAL LETTER TO DAUGHTER: I’M DISOWNING YOU FOR KICKING OUT MY GAY GRANDSON
"It does, but the ambulance came and their gonna try to make him feel better," Cherry said.
With news wire services
This story is developing.
On a mobile device? Click here to view the video of a helicopter airlifting the man.
Click here to watch an ABC report.