A man set himself on fire outside the US Supreme Court

A man has set himself on fire in front of the US Supreme Court. The incident took place on Friday. This is the second untoward incident in a week near Parliament House Capital in Washington DC.

A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court, Patricia McCabe, said in a statement that a man entered the plaza in front of the Supreme Court building around 6:30 pm local time on Friday and set himself on fire. This is not a public safety issue. No one else was injured.

However, the health condition of the burnt person, his identity or why he did so was not disclosed.

The U.S. Capitol Police tweeted shortly after the incident that a medical helicopter had landed near the Capitol in an emergency. The helicopter landed at Capitol Plaza and the man was taken to a local hospital.

An investigation is underway, barring the public from entering the area.
A few days ago, when a parachute stunt flew over the area, a warning signal was sounded in the Capitol building. Soon after, everyone was removed from the building. As part of the exercise, the U.S. military’s parachute demonstration team passed through the area, sounding the alarm.