A 58-year-old veteran carrying explosives lit himself on fire outside of Georgia's Capitol building, before being extinguished by law enforcement and rushed to a nearby hospital.
The Georgia resident reportedly parked his car a short distance from the Capitol before walking towards the building while covered in gasoline and strapped with fireworks. He was quickly taken to the Grady Memorial hospital in Atlanta after a police trooper spotted the veteran igniting himself, using a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
Police said the man was upset with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and was protesting the federal agency.
“A veteran that was disgruntled with the VA did a personal protest in front of the Capitol,” Georgia Department of Safety commissioner Mark McDonough told Atlanta news outlet WSB-TV. “One of our troopers actually put him out with one of his fire extinguishers, and he’s been transported for medical treatment.”
The Georgia state police department confirmed to local media the veteran was strapped with several “homemade incendiary devices” when he decided to ignite himself just outside of the Capitol.
“He did indicate that he was disgruntled with the VA system and was seeking attention for that,” an officer told reporters near the scene of the incident.
A vehicle used by the veteran was carefully being inspected by a bomb squad for explosives as the Capitol square remained shut down throughout Tuesday afternoon. No other injuries were reported besides the veteran’s, who burned nearly 85 to 90 percent of his body during the incident, according to local news reports.
The VA is one of the largest federal agencies and the biggest integrated health care system in the country, providing care to over nine million veterans. The agency has been routinely criticised by Donald Trump and legislators from both sides of the political aisle in recent years. In May, the Senate passed a $55bn comprehensive reform bill, which will expand the VA’s health care system and review its outdated infrastructure.
