The man who set himself on fire on the National Mall, and remains unidentified, died from his injuries late Friday night, reported CNN.
He was burned so badly, that police will need dental records and DNA samples to identify him. The big mystery behind this tragedy is that no one seems to know what his motive was. 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 demonstrated a cause.
Washington, D.C. police are investigating what the man’s possible motives may have been. According to AP, a witness identified as Katy Scheflen, said she did not hear the man say anything before he set himself on fire. However, she said she did notice that another man with a tripod was standing nearby, but then he disappeared by the time the police arrived. It was not clear whether or not a recording may exist.
“He appeared to be waiting for something to happen. After it happened, he was gone,” Scheflen said Saturday of the man with the tripod. “I can’t say what the connection was between them or whether there was a connection.”
On Friday afternoon, emergency crews rushed to the National Mall in Washington D.C. to help a man who reportedly set himself on fire. Police say the man was conscious and breathing when medical personnel arrived.
“I did not see flames on him, but his face and his arms were charred, and the ground nearby was in flames,” said Nicole Didyk, according to the Washington Post, who was jogging on the Mall when she witnessed the incident. She said she spoke to one of the men who helped the injured man. After the flames were extinguished, Didyk was told, the man thanked the people who came to his aid.
Unfortunately, he didn’t tell them why he did this to himself. Unless the mysterious tripod man comes forward, or investigations scratch up some parting sentiments, we may never know.
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