An active member of the US Air Force has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington over the weekend in protest of the war in Gaza, the Pentagon said Monday.
US Air Force member on Monday died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. The man was identified by police as Aaron Bushnell, 25, of San Antonio, Texas. Emergency responders on Sunday had rushed to the scene just before 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) in response to a "call for person on fire outside the Israeli Embassy," according to a message on X, formerly Twitter, by the capital city's fire department.
When they got there, the fire had already been put out by agents of the US law enforcement organization known as the Secret Service, which is in charge of guarding embassies in Washington.
RIP Aaron Bushnell 🪖
A U.S. Air Force service member reportedly set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. The incident is deeply distressing and destructive.
(warning: Blurred, but audio is intense) pic.twitter.com/Z2NprQPcoW
Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon with serious injuries. Before setting himself on fire, he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide".
According to the fire department, he had "critical life-threatening injuries" when he was first taken to the hospital. The "individual involved in yesterday's incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night," an Air Force spokesman informed on Monday morning. "We will provide additional details 24 hours after next-of-kin notifications are complete."
According to an Israeli embassy spokesman, the individual was "unknown" to them and there were no staff injuries in the event. In the video shared on social media, the man is seen wearing military fatigues and declaring he will "not be complicit in genocide" before dousing himself in liquid. He then lights himself on fire while yelling "Free Palestine!" until he falls to the ground. The video was reportedly first shared in a live stream on the social platform Twitch.
BREAKING:
⚡ 🇺🇲🇮🇱 US soldier sets himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in the US in Washington.
It is suspected that this was in protest for Palestine.
"I will be no longer complicit in genocide." He shouted.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, officials… pic.twitter.com/994WHxn0MG