Man who set himself on fire near White House dies of his injuries

Emergency services at the scene on Wednesday where a man set himself on fire near the White House
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
James Morris30 May 2019

A man who set himself on fire near the White House has died of his injuries, police have confirmed.

The man set himself alight on the Ellipse, an area popular with tourists between the White House and the Washington Monument, on Wednesday.

The man, who has been identified as Arnav Gupta, was taken to hospital but died later that night, the US Park Police announced on Thursday.

It said in a statement: “On May 29 at 12.25pm, officers from the United States Park Police and United States Secret Service responded to a report of an adult male who reportedly lit himself on fire on the Ellipse near 15th and Constitution Avenue.

Police at the scene where the man set himself on fire on Wednesday
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“The individual was extinguished and later transported to a local hospital for treatment.

“The Bethesda, Maryland man identified as Arnav Gupta died of his injuries later that evening.”

It was the second such incident in two months, after a man in an electric mobility scooter was hospitalised after he lit his jacket on fire outside the White House fence.

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