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Man sets himself on fire on the National Mall

2K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  Bradrock 
#1 ·
Man sets himself on fire on the National Mall
ERIC TUCKER, AP




WASHINGTON (AP) — A man set himself on fire on the National Mall in the nation's capital as passers-by rushed over to help put out 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 with a young child in the car.

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 the man was clearly alive as the fire spread, and passing joggers took off their shirts in an effort to help put out the flames. It was not clear who actually extinguished the flames.

A police department spokesman said the man was conscious and breathing at the scene. MedStar Washington Hospital Center tweeted that the man was taken there and he was in critical condition Friday night.

"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.

She said there was another man with a tripod set up near him, but it's unclear if the man was filming the incident.

Lt. Pamela Smith of the U.S. Park Police, which is investigating along with the D.C. police department, said: "I'm not aware of any signage or any articulation of any causes."

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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#3 ·
He got what he wanted, he died


WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who set himself on fire on the National Mall in the U.S. capital has died of his injuries, which were so severe that authorities will have to use DNA and dental records to identify him, District of Columbia police said Saturday.

The man died Friday night at a Washington hospital where he had been airlifted, Officer Araz Alali, a police spokesman, said.

The man poured the contents of a red canister of gasoline on himself in the center portion of the mall Friday afternoon. He then set himself on fire, with passing joggers taking off their shirts to help put out the flames. Police had said he was conscious and breathing at the scene, but he was airlifted to MedStar Washington Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries.

Police are investigating the man's possible motives. Lt. Pamela Smith of the U.S. Park Police said Friday she was not aware that he had carried any signs with him or had articulated a cause.

One witness, Katy Scheflen, said she did not hear the man say anything intelligible before he set himself on fire. But she said she did notice that another man with a tripod was standing nearby and had disappeared by the time the police had arrived. It was not immediately clear whether a recording exists.

"He appeared to be waiting for something to happen. After it happened, he was gone," Scheflen, a Justice Department lawyer, said Saturday of the man with the tripod.

"I can't say what the connection was between them or whether there was a connection," she added.
 

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#4 ·
YIKES THAT HAD TO HURT . AN GAS IS NOT CHEAP .

WELL HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR SOME CAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS? WTF . GUY WITH TRIPOD DISAPPEARS WTF ??? THAT GUY DELT WITH SOME SERIOUS PAIN TO PROVE SOME POINT TO BAD WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT.

HMMM GUYS WALKING AROUND WITH RED GAS CANS IN DC SHOULD BE A REASON OF CONCERN .
JUST LAST WEEK I POSTED ABUT A GUY WHO WALKED ON A BUSS TOSSED GAS AN LITE IT OFF .

BETTER BAN GAS CANS THAT HOLD MORE THAN 4 PINTS OF GAS AS HIGH CAPACITY MURDER CANS ARE A THREAT TO THE CHILDREN .
 
#7 ·
I wonder when and where the video will show up. It sure sounds like the guy with the tripod was involved.
 
#8 ·
I DON'T KNOW BUT THERE HAS TO BE SURVALINACE VIDEO OF THE AREA .

HE HAD A 2.5 GALLION OR SO RED GAS CAN WALKING AROUND BY THE CAPITOL YOU WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE A SECURITY ISSUE.

WE HAVE WOMEN SHOOT IN THERE CARS OFF CAMERA , 800,000 BIKERS OFF CAMERA , GUYS LIGHTING THEM SELVES ON FIRE OFF CAMERA , APPARENTLY YOU CAN DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT IN FROT OF THE WHITE HOUSE AN THERE IS NO SURVEILLANCE . JUST DON'T TALK ON YOUR CELL PHONE .

HE WAS A BLACK MAN BTW . THE MEDIA SEEMS TO FORGET TO REPORT DESCRIPTIONS THESE DAYS . HE WAS IN STABLE CONDITION THEY REPORTED HOW EVER . APPARENTLY DEAD IS A STABLE CONDITION

THAT HAD TO HURT .
 

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#10 ·
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF A GUY CAN GET THIS CLOSE WITH A GIANT CAN OF GAS HE COULD GET THIS CLOSE WITH A ROCKET LAUNCHER , SNIPER RIFLE. POISONOUS GAS, RC PLANE OR HELICOPTER WITH A BOMB. KITE WITH A BOMB SHARKS WITH FINS , ETC .

HE SURE THE HELL DIDNT HAVE THAT CAN IN HIS PANTS

HOW IS THIS INCIDENT NOT ON VIDEO????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
 

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#13 ·
Those guys are using their shirts in an attempt to extinguish the flames. The early reports from eye witnesses say he dumped the gas on his CLOTHES and set himself on fire.
 
#14 ·
Definitely not a good way to go. Still wondering what his reason was for doing this. FyredUp... What are the chances of surviving something like that?

Either way at least he did it this way and didn't decide he was going to take other people with him.
 
#15 ·
Those guys are using their shirts in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
yea I noted that but the baiters will see it different . LOL

I guess a short would burn off that fast maybe but pants would take a while .????????????????? I havent seen a lot of gas soaked burn victims however ?

sounds like help cam fast ?

I dont believe a word the media says . they would interview a lamp post for info .
 
#16 · (Edited)
yea I noted that but the baiters will see it different . LOL

I guess a short would burn off that fast maybe but pants would take a while .????????????????? I havent seen a lot of gas soaked burn victims however ?

sounds like help came fast ?

I don't believe a word the media says . they would interview a lamp post for info .
This whole story reeks of manipulation and stinks to high heaven. Like a 3 day old dead fish wrapped in the Washington Post (which BTW stinks worse than the 3 day old dead , rotting fish).

No One sets themselves on fire for no apparent reason. There was a reason he chose the National mall and I am betting it's political in nature.

Monks in VietNam and China have done the same thing. It's always a political reason behind it. BTW the gummits there have locked down those monestary's but I guess you Don't hear about that too much back stateside.

If it was a loner guy, all bummed out over a divorce or some such, he would have swallowed sleeping pills chased with whiskey or ate a bullet, or slit his wrists.

Don't count on the tripod guy, they have already gotten to him.

This stinks to high heaven. I smell cover up I tells ya!
 
#17 ·
Luckily we had just left the mall and had hoofed it to the back of Arlington to the Lee house (it's mostly down hill from there) in time to see the smoke and wonder what it was.
 
#19 ·
SouthTexasGuy, A bunch of stuff was closed or had a barricade in front of it. It seemed they spent more money closing stuff than it would of cost to keep open. After going to the spy museum and driving around the mall to see the sights since they were closed, we went to Arlington which was open. The Lee house was closed, and I was half interested to see if they also stopped the guard at the Unknown Soldier which would of been a big mistake. The Guards were there thankfully.
 

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#21 · (Edited)
Mr. Moleman,

That is terrible. I have never been to the cryptology (spy museum) but it's on the list. Last Time I was in DC I took my Chinese wife and stepdaughter (Chinese wife is now a proud citizen, step daughter on the way..we did it the right and legal way) to the WWII monument. I found my Daddy's state and told them a lot of stories about his service. He is still alive BTW.

We went to the Jefferson memorial, the Lincoln memorial. the white house visitors center (since we are not allowed to actually get inside the actual whitehouse anymore like I did when I was a school kid). I met Bobbie Kennedy as a youth. He came out and shook my hand on a tour of the White house by us school kids. I will never forget it. We saw the FBI building (didn't go inside). I was there as a youth on a school field trip..they shot a thompson on the indoor rANGE AND GAVE ALL US KIDS AN EXPENDED shell. You think that would ever happen today?

Nope them guns be evil and only your masters and the minions who serve them can have those nowadays.

We also went to see the House and Room President Lincoln died in. We saw the capitol and congress, and the old supreme court chambers that used to be there. It all echoed with history and made us proud to be Americans.

Ah, back then , when I was a kid, it was a simpler time, the world has moved on and left my old butt behind!
 
#22 ·
THE STUFF THERE SHUTTING DOWN IS A JOKE COMPARED TO WHAT NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN .
That is the heart of the matter right there. They are blowing out money faster than they can print it on crap we really don't need or want, but they're willing to do crap like this to save pennies and show how powerful they are. I have been there before, but we were there for my best friends wedding this trip so we took our kids. I'm really glad we missed the driver and the gas guy as I would prefer not to have to explain that to little kids. The kids had still had fun dispite the closures and on Saturday we went to Baltimore and went aboard the USS Constellation and the USS Torsk which are anchored there. It would of been nice to take them to the monuments on the National Mall, but we knew it was going to most likely be closed before we left.
 
#23 ·
My kid is susposed to go to DC on a school trip this year . It costing $1300 to send him . Honetly Id like to take the money an take him my self an skip the liberal school tour.

I wonder how family's are supposed to afford this crap . I can afford it .
 
#26 ·
thy may think its not a concern to the puplic but fankly Im concerend when a nut is walking around with gas an matches . be glad he did not do it in a theater or bus.

we had a nut light off gas in a bus years back an it was not pretty .



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FOLLOW: News, DC Fire, John Constantino Dead, John Constantino Family, John Constantino Mentally Ill, Man On Fire At National Mall, Man-Self-Immolates-At-National-Mall, Crime News
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — The death of a New Jersey man who set himself on fire on the National Mall was the result of his long fight with mental illness, not a political statement, his family said.

John Constantino, 64, of Mount Laurel, N.J., poured the contents of a canister of gasoline on himself in the center portion of the mall Friday afternoon, police said. He then set himself ablaze, with passing joggers taking off their shirts to help put out the flames.

Police had said Constantino conscious and breathing at the scene, but he died later that night at a Washington hospital.

"John Constantino was a loving father and husband. His death was not a political act or statement, but the result of his long battle with mental illness," his family said in a statement issued through attorney Jeffrey Cox.

The statement did not address the nature of the mental illness.

The family said in the statement that it "would like to acknowledge the heroism of the paramedics and bystanders who attempted to save" Constantino.

The family "is shocked and deeply saddened," the statement said. Describing the incident as a "personal family matter and not an issue of public concern," it asked that the media respect its request for privacy.
 
#27 ·
ths happend here in 98 or so an the victoms barely survived . missing ears an crap it was not good the criminal had been in out of mendota mental hospital more times than I can count but they kept letting him loose .

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6 hurt when man pours gas in Wisconsin bus, lights it
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Published: Monday, April 20 1998 12:00 a.m. MDT
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Summary
A man boarded a city bus, poured gasoline and then lit it on fire, seriously burning himself and five others as the driver swerved to a stop and fled along with the screaming passengers.
Four people, including the driver, were hospitalized in critical condition Monday after escaping from the bus about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The two others, including the 20-year-old suspect, were in serious condition.
A man boarded a city bus, poured gasoline and then lit it on fire, seriously burning himself and five others as the driver swerved to a stop and fled along with the screaming passengers.

Four people, including the driver, were hospitalized in critical condition Monday after escaping from the bus about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The two others, including the 20-year-old suspect, were in serious condition.The suspect, who was not identified, got on the bus in Madison's downtown and rode to the southwest side before tossing gasoline on or near a passenger, police spokesman Steve Beavers said.

"We don't know if he picked that person on purpose or at random," Beavers said.

The suspect, looking dazed and burned, was arrested an hour later, about a mile from the scene. Police had used tracking dogs in the search.
 
#28 ·
Years ago when I worked at an Amoco gas station on the night shift, I had an incident with a carload of drunk a$$holes that were threatening me. I had left my pistol in the building, under the counter, because it was nice weather, and I didn't want to carry in a shoulder rig and have to have a jacket on to cover it. The driver started being a jerk, and when I told him to leave, he told me I didn't have the balls to make "them" leave. The other guys started getting out of the car, so I turned on the nearest pump (reset key back in those days.) and whipped out my Bic lighter. I told him I'd light them all up with my "flamethrower". He again said I didn't have the balls, but now was shaking. I told him to push it and see. They got back in the car and left, spinning tires and cussing me all to hell. Said they'd be back when I wasn't prepared, and they'd get me. Never saw them again though. Scared the living hellouta me. LOL. A few mninutes after they left I was a shaking mess as the adrenaline was wearing off. Had a lot of wierd stuff happen there on the night shift.
 
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