Man Sets Himself On Fire Outside White House Gate

WASHINGTON (AP) – A man set himself afire Monday just outside a White House gate and repeatedly yelled “Allah Allah” as a Secret Service officer held him facedown on the sidewalk. Alan Etter, spokesman for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said the man suffered burns to about 30 percent of his body. The man had burns to his head, back, arms and face but was conscious when medics took him to Washington Hospital Center, Etter said. White House doctors joined uniformed Secret Service personnel in administering first aid until the emergency service technicians arrived. They transported the 52-year-old man, who was not identified, to the burn unit of Washington Hospital Center. Lorie Lewis, a Secret Service spokeswoman, said the man “set himself on fire on Pennsylvania Avenue on the north side of the White House complex.” Etter said the incident occurred about 2 p.m. next to the guard post on the north side of the White House beside a section of Pennsylvania Avenue recently reopened to pedestrians. Witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing a man in flames. The man’s right trouser leg was burned. Afterward, he lay on the sidewalk about 10-15 feet from his partially burned raincoat, attache case and various papers. A fire extinguisher was there as well. Secret Service personnel confiscated the man’s items. A Florida couple with a video camera taped the incident. John and Beverly Beers, tourists from Palm Beach, Fla., say they turned the tape over to the Secret Service. Authorities also interviewed the couple.