WASHINGTON — An active-duty U.S. Air Force member who live-streamed himself protesting the Israel-Hamas war by setting himself on fire outside an Israeli Embassy on Sunday, is dead, a U.S. official confirmed to NBC News.
He was identified as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, of San Antonio, Texas, by the Metropolitan Police Department on Monday.
Air Force spokeswoman Rose M. Riley confirmed Bushnell had been an active duty airman, and he could be heard introducing himself in the video shared online by independent journalist Talia Jane.
While streaming himself live on Twitch, he stated that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before dousing himself in accelerant and setting himself ablaze around 1 p.m. on Sunday.
As he became engulfed in flames, Bushnell repeatedly yelled “Free Palestine” before falling to the ground and appearing to be in great pain.
The incident occurred outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Secret Service’s uniformed division reportedly extinguished the fire.
MPD responded to the scene and reported that he was transported by DC Fire and EMS to a local hospital in “critical condition.”
Explosive Ordnance Disposal was also called to the scene regarding a suspicious vehicle which was believed to be connected to Bushnell, but no hazardous materials were found inside the vehicle.
The Israeli Embassy said no staff members were injured in the incident.
A similar incident involving an individual protesting the Israel-Hamas war occurred in December, when a person set themselves on fire outside Atlanta’s Israeli Consulate. Police recovered a Palestinian flag at the scene and called it “likely an extreme act of political protest.”
As the war in Gaza stretches into its fourth month, nearly 30,000 people in Gaza, two thirds of them women and children, have died in the fighting, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
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