Man Tries to Set Self Ablaze at White House
Monday, November 15, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. An unidentified man tried to set himself on fire outside the White House fence midday Monday, witnesses said.
Onlookers said the incident took place outside the Northwest gate. Uniformed Secret Service gents were seen rushing to surround the man, who had graying hair and glasses. He was heard screaming in pain.
Television cameras captured the aftermath. Smoke hung in the air around the man as paramedics rushed to provide aid. The man appeared to be clutching his hand in pain, but it was unclear how serious his burns were.
A spokesman for the District of Columbia Fire Department said the man suffered burns over about 30 percent of his body.
Man starts fire outside White House
From correspondents in Washington | 16nov04
A BEARDED man shouting "Allah" was injured while apparently setting fire to his belongings outside the White House today and was quickly subdued by Secret Service guards.
A Reuters reporter saw the man try to present a manila envelope to guards near a Secret Service post on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington.
Moments later, a plume of smoke rose above the guard post, while two guards wrestled the man to the ground and a third extinguished flames that engulfed his briefcase and overcoat a few metres away.
The man, who appeared to suffer from a burn to his right hand, groaned and repeatedly shouted "Allah", as guards held him on the ground. The area was cordoned off and fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene.
Neither the Secret Service nor the White House offered immediate comment on the incident, and the man was not identified.
