Man lights himself on fire near White House: U.S. Secret Service

[May 30, 2019]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man set himself on fire outside the White House on Wednesday and was being treated at the scene, the U.S. Secret Service said.

A U.S. Secret Service uniformed division officer sprays a fire extinguisher at a man engulfed in flames after he set himself on fire on the Ellipse, near the White House in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media video. KRISJAN BERZINS /via REUTERS

Authorities from the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police were administering first aid after the incident on the Ellipse near the Washington Mall, an area popular with tourists, according to a Twitter post. Further details were not available.

It was the second such incident since April 12, when a man in a wheelchair-type electric scooter lit his jacket on fire outside the White House fence.

That man was hospitalized with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, the U.S. Secret Service said.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Dan Grebler and Tom Brown)

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