Tweet
WARNING: Video is disturbing. Watched this live today :no:
Video
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Stor...9-014/page.asp
(Warning: The details and video in the following story are both graphic and disturbing. Sensitive viewers are strongly advised to be aware of the content.)
It was the kind of situation emergency crews dread. And they were forced to watch it unfold before their eyes.
Police stood by helplessly as a man in a rented truck poured gasoline on himself then set himself on fire at Queen’s Park Wednesday afternoon.
It started just after 12:30pm, when a man drove up in a white vehicle and threatened to kill himself.
He then clambered into the back of his truck, where it's believed he opened as many as three containers of gasoline, and doused himself with the contents.
After several tense minutes of negotiation, the man tried to repeatedly back away from police, who had surrounded the vehicle. He hit at least two cruisers, before he slammed on the brakes.
Witnesses heard the man shout “I don’t want to kill myself!”, “I don’t want to hurt anybody,” and "Get back, get back!"
There are now indications the distraught victim may have asked police to shoot him, in a scenario known as 'death by cop'.
He also threw several envelopes and papers on the ground, although it’s not clear what was in them.
He was holding two lighters in his hand and about 40 minutes into the standoff, he flicked at least one of them, causing him to erupt into flames.
Crews immediately moved in, and managed to douse the fire inside the cab of the truck. But when he emerged from the vehicle, the flames came back.
"He kept reigniting because he was so soaked in gas," explains one Toronto firefighter who was on the scene.
Rescue workers rolled him in the snow, then hosed the man down, putting him in a waiting ambulance, and taking him to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. It’s not clear yet what his injuries are.
The motive for the bizarre incident isn’t known. It came at the beginning of a major farmer’s protest at the Legislature, but early indications are that it was just a bizarre coincidence, and that the victim wasn’t connected to the demonstration.
Those who saw what took place commended police and rescue workers for their actions, noting they did everything they could to stop the tragedy before it happened, and reacted quickly afterwards.
But most were stunned by the sudden and unthinkable violence. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing," relates Michael Smary. "What I seen today was totally out of the ordinary. To see it in real life is something else."
Queen's Park Circle near University Ave. has been closed to traffic and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
March 9, 2005
Video
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Stor...9-014/page.asp
(Warning: The details and video in the following story are both graphic and disturbing. Sensitive viewers are strongly advised to be aware of the content.)
It was the kind of situation emergency crews dread. And they were forced to watch it unfold before their eyes.
Police stood by helplessly as a man in a rented truck poured gasoline on himself then set himself on fire at Queen’s Park Wednesday afternoon.
It started just after 12:30pm, when a man drove up in a white vehicle and threatened to kill himself.
He then clambered into the back of his truck, where it's believed he opened as many as three containers of gasoline, and doused himself with the contents.
After several tense minutes of negotiation, the man tried to repeatedly back away from police, who had surrounded the vehicle. He hit at least two cruisers, before he slammed on the brakes.
Witnesses heard the man shout “I don’t want to kill myself!”, “I don’t want to hurt anybody,” and "Get back, get back!"
There are now indications the distraught victim may have asked police to shoot him, in a scenario known as 'death by cop'.
He also threw several envelopes and papers on the ground, although it’s not clear what was in them.
He was holding two lighters in his hand and about 40 minutes into the standoff, he flicked at least one of them, causing him to erupt into flames.
Crews immediately moved in, and managed to douse the fire inside the cab of the truck. But when he emerged from the vehicle, the flames came back.
"He kept reigniting because he was so soaked in gas," explains one Toronto firefighter who was on the scene.
Rescue workers rolled him in the snow, then hosed the man down, putting him in a waiting ambulance, and taking him to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. It’s not clear yet what his injuries are.
The motive for the bizarre incident isn’t known. It came at the beginning of a major farmer’s protest at the Legislature, but early indications are that it was just a bizarre coincidence, and that the victim wasn’t connected to the demonstration.
Those who saw what took place commended police and rescue workers for their actions, noting they did everything they could to stop the tragedy before it happened, and reacted quickly afterwards.
But most were stunned by the sudden and unthinkable violence. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing," relates Michael Smary. "What I seen today was totally out of the ordinary. To see it in real life is something else."
Queen's Park Circle near University Ave. has been closed to traffic and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
March 9, 2005
Comment