SEATTLE — A 61-year-old former University of Washington staff member doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze today in the midst of a crowded campus plaza. He died a short time later.
The man, who was not immediately identified, died shortly after he was brought to Harborview Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said.
“We do not know why he did it,” said UW Assistant Police Chief Ralph Robinson, adding the man suffered second- and third-degree burns. “That’s a big mystery.”
The man had been part of the university’s support staff, Robinson said, adding he didn’t know what department the man worked in, nor when or why he left. The assistant chief said campus police were investigating.
Witnesses in Red Square, a large brick plaza at the center of the Seattle campus, reported seeing “this big flame and a ball of fire” around 1 p.m. today, Robinson said.
Student Trevor Preston was walking out of a library next to Red Square when he saw the man in the middle of the plaza, pouring a liquid on himself from a large container.
“Everyone was eyeing him because we couldn’t comprehend that he was actually pouring gas on himself,” Preston said.
One onlooker ran toward the man in an apparent attempt to stop him, but the onlooker slipped on the liquid and did not reach the man, witnesses said.
Student Dan Kim said the man, who appeared to be alone, “lit a match and all of a sudden everything went up in flames including himself. He dropped down onto the ground. He was rolling on the ground.”
Several people, including student Peter Chung, rushed toward the man and tried to smother the flames with their jackets, shirts and other clothing. A few ran to get fire extinguishers, he said.
“A bunch of us used our water bottles to try to kill the fire,” Chung said.
One man took off his jeans and stood in his boxers trying to smother the flames, witnesses said.
Dan Kim said the badly burned man was mumbling incoherently when the flames were finally put out. Kim said he heard the man say “Oh my God” before he was put into an ambulance.
Robinson said no campus demonstrations had been going on at the time and that “it appears this was just a single event.”
The man was not identified pending notification of relatives.
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