Police: Man who set himself on fire in D.C. dies

Elizabeth Weise | USA TODAY

The man who set himself on fire on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has died, police said Saturday.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead Friday at 9 p.m. ET, Araz Alali, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said Saturday.

The man's burns were so severe that authorities will have to use DNA and dental records to identify him, Alali said.

The unidentified man was found near the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in just before 4:30 p.m. Friday, Alali said.

Witnesses said he poured a can of gasoline on himself and set himself on fire. Joggers going by took off their shirts to try to put the fire out, the Associated Press reported.

The man was semiconscious when police arrived. He was transported by a U.S. Park Police helicopter to a local hospital, where he had been listed in critical condition, Alali said.

Police do not know why he set himself on fire. However, "there was substantial evidence recovered from the scene that is being processed by the detectives," Alali said.

Nicole Didyk was jogging past and told The Washington Post that one of the rescuers told her the man was facing the Capitol when he set himself on fire. She was told he saluted before the fire, according to the Los Angeles Times.