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By Ben Kesslen
A man who set him on fire near the White House has died, according to the United States Park Police.
The Secret Service and Park Police responded to a report of a man on fire on Wednesday. Officers extinguished the blaze, and police later identified the man as Arnav Gupta of Bethesda, Maryland.
Gupta was taken to a local hospital, where he died Wednesday evening.
A witness, Alina Berzins, 17, was visiting the White House with her family when she saw a man running and covered in flames.
“We were just looking at the White House to take pictures and he just came out of nowhere,” she told NBC News in a phone interview Wednesday, adding that authorities responded quickly to the incident.
Last month, a similar event occurred, when a man set himself on fire outside the White House. That incident in April was not life-threatening.
Motivations behind Gupta’s actions remain unknown, and the investigation is being handled by the Metropolitan Police.