Man dies after setting himself on fire near White House

WASHINGTON (AP) – A Maryland man who set himself on fire at a national park near the White House has died.

U.S. Park police tell news outlets 33-year-old Arnav Gupta died from his injuries late Wednesday. Police say officers and U.S. Secret Service agents responded to a report of the burning man earlier on the Ellipse that afternoon and extinguished the flames. Gupta was hospitalized in critical condition.

Montgomery County, Maryland, police said earlier Wednesday that investigators were searching for Gupta and were concerned for his welfare. They said he was last seen alive that morning when he left his Bethesda-area home.

Park police spokesman Sgt. Eduardo Delgado says Washington, D.C., police are now handling the investigation.

 

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities say a man set himself on fire at a national park near the White House and has been hospitalized in critical condition.

U.S. Park police tell news outlets officers and U.S. Secret Service agents responded to the report of the burning man at the White House Ellipse on Wednesday and extinguished the flames. Police spokesman Sgt. Eduardo Delgado says authorities hadn’t determined the man’s identity or motive as of that afternoon.

Park police are investigating and have jurisdiction over the case as the man was at the Ellipse, which is a national park. Delgado says police are working to determine what type of accelerant was used and whether the man parked his car nearby.

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