The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said in a statement Sunday that an airman tried to set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said in a statement Sunday that an airman tried to set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The incident took place on International Drive, NW, at around 1 p.m., when the airman, identified as Aaron Bushnell, placed a recording device on the ground, lit it, and yelled, “Free Palestine,” according to a press release from the MPD.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before going on to say that what he’s about to do is minimal compared with the suffering of Palestinians,” CNN quoted Bushnell as saying in a video of the incident.
Bushnell then collapsed as the flames spread.
Rose Riley, a spokesperson for the US Air Force, confirmed an active-duty airman was involved in today’s incident. “No embassy staff were injured and are safe,” an Israeli Embassy spokesman added.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had already been extinguished by the U.S. Secret Service, according to Vito Maggiolo, a public information officer from DC Fire. The MPD said that Bushnell was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and is still in critical condition.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said it responded to the 3500 block of International Drive, NW, to assist the United States Secret Service after an individual set himself on fire in front of an embassy in the block.
The MPD said that the incident remains under investigation.
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