Posted on 03/28/2017 3:50:57 PM PDT by Gamecock
The man who set himself and his car on fire in the parking lot of Lafayette's Walmart in front of dozens of horrified shoppers has died, Lafayette police Chief Rick Bashor said Monday.
The man, whose identity has not been released, started driving around the parking lot in a beige Toyota Corolla shortly after 5:20 p.m. Sunday, and asked witnesses to film him as he set himself on fire, police said.
He cited years of harassment from the FBI as the reason for his self-immolation, according to video of the incident filmed by a bystander at the man's request.
The Daily Camera has viewed the video, which was taken moments after the man was extinguished by bystanders and was still awaiting medical assistance, but has chosen not to release the footage due to its graphic content.
"I got in trouble 11 years ago, and ever since (the FBI has) been completely harassing me," the man told a visibly upset onlooker. "They never let me sleep. All I'm doing is trying to make ends meet and all they're trying to do is (expletive)
Prior to that footage being filmed, the man stopped near the store entrance, doused himself with gasoline inside the car and lit himself and the car on fire, Lafayette police said. The man then got out of the car and yelled at bystanders not to extinguish the fire.
Several citizens put out the flames by covering the man with jackets, according to footage in a separate video.
David Bach, who was shopping at Walmart at the time and took the video showing the man's statement, said the minutes following the incident were filled with panic and confusion.
"I heard a lady screaming and sprinting into the store and my first reaction was that someone had a gun," Bach said Monday. "I expected to see someone hit with a car or having a heart attack.
"What I saw was a man completely engulfed in flames slowly walking across the parking lot with his hands up."
After several bystanders were able to extinguish the flames, Bach said the man was left completely alone while people tried to put out the still-burning car.
"I thought that it was wrong for him to be sitting there alone in that state," Bach said. "He was sitting Indian-style and was completely coherent. All his skin and clothes had burned off and he was smoldering.
"He said, 'I want you to record me and I want to get my message out,'" Bach said.
The man stated that he had fallen into trouble with the FBI more than a decade ago and had been harassed ever since, according to the video.
The Camera could not verify the claims made in the video.
"It was all very disturbing," Bach said. "The fact that someone could get to that point in their life and in their head where they would do something that drastic is just sad and disturbing."
Tanja Carter, a witness who saw the man after he was pulled from the car, said Sunday that he was burned from head to toe.
The man was taken by helicopter to University of Colorado Hospital with second- and third-degree burns, according to police. He succumbed to his injuries late Monday afternoon, Bashor wrote in an email.
The Boulder County Coroner's Office will release the man's identity once next of kin have been notified.
"Have you noticed how since Donald Trump became President, the number and the frequency of mass shootings on American soil has gone way, way down? I have."
I would love to able to attribute no mass killings since January 20th (a little over 60 days) to some Trump effect however most mass killings have little relevance to President or party.....
Phsycopaths do what Physcopaths do whatever and whenever the little voices in their head tell them to....
Not all details are known, but that is an ugly way to commit suicide
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
If you build a man a fire he will be warm for the night. If you light a man on fire he will be warm for the rest of his life.
I’d like to know more, but damn.
I am guessing drug-induced psycopathies. I could be wrong, but long-term drug abuse destroys the mind and could lead to things like this or variations. I think we should try to help drug addicts, but the majority either don’t want help or can’t shake addiction. A good reason to never try drugs.
Sounds like the guy who kicked off the Arab Spring in Tunisia by setting himself on fire.
Given that whatever investigations the FBI may have had of him are now effectively closed, will the FBI release his files, if any, to the public? If they deny there are any, would this be because there really aren’t any, or because they destroyed the records as part of a coverup?
OMG! Was this man a veteran?
He certainly needed help, years ago.
Prayers for him and his family.
Would you please add me to the list? Lived there for 10 years and miss it every day.
Thanks, Julie
That guy in Tunisia set himself on fire to protest unemployment; apparently the police had confiscated his vegetable cart, and he could no longer make a living.
An extreme form of cutting one’s nose off to spite one’s face.
I agree 100%.
Not a big fan of the jokes here, on this thread.
They’re easy to make but this man was certainly in a lot of emotional pain. And his family must be very distraught as well.
As you said prayers for his family, and prayers for his soul.
There was some idiot Quaker back during the Vietnam war who set himself on fire outside the Pentagon- while hanging on to his poor child. The child survived, while even bigger idiots praised the fool.
Cleanup in aisle 3.
Thanks, Julie.
You are on the list.
Earlier this month, another man killed himself in public in Lafayette.
On the flip side, many people with serious brain disorders to begin with, such as BiPolar disorder or Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder, etc., often turn to drugs to “self medicate.” Have several family members in the class I’m currently teaching with loved ones in that terrible situation.
It would be interesting to know more about his background. Since he was trying to get attention and get people to video this, it seems he could have been trying to make some kind of statement.
Could be.
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