In the latest of a series of violent incidents to rock the American capital a man has doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire on Washington's National Mall.
The man was taken to hospital by helicopter where he was reported as being in a critical condition after setting himself alight on the long stretch of grass in front of the US Capitol.
Eyewitnesses reported that the man ‘danced down the Mall’ in flames before passerbys helped to put the fire out.
The area was taped off and surrounded by investigators last night as tourists and onlookers took pictures with their mobile phones. Police found a red fuel canister at the scene, less than a mile from the US Congress.
The incident comes a day after police shot dead a 34-year-old mother who tried to ram through security barriers at the White House and the Senate. Two weeks earlier a gunman rampaged through a naval base in Washington, killing 12 civilian Navy employees.
