A 63-year-old man has been arrested on arson charges after allegedly setting himself on fire inside the lobby of an office building housing Google in Lower Manhattan.
John Butch, of Brooklyn, New York, allegedly used an accelerant and a lighter to ignite himself at around 2.58pm on Friday, 28 August, inside the lobby of 315 Hudson Street, near Vandam Street.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said Butch was arrested following the incident. He has reportedly been charged with arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Butch entering the building at around 2pm before leaving and returning about an hour later.
Investigators said he used fluid from a backpack to set himself alight, with both his body and the bag becoming engulfed in flames.
The incident caused panic in the lobby, but security guards reportedly rushed to intervene with fire extinguishers, putting out the flames before emergency crews arrived.
Butch survived the incident and was taken by emergency medical services to the burn unit at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He remains in hospital in stable condition.
Police said no staff members or bystanders were injured.
During a search of Butch's belongings, investigators reportedly recovered a collapsible tactical baton from inside his charred backpack.
It remains unclear whether Google was the intended target. The 10-storey building is a shared-use property, with Google among its largest tenants.
The building also houses the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau, the New York Society for the Deaf and several ground-floor retail businesses.
Writing
Brooklyn man charged after allegedly setting himself on fire in Google building
A Brooklyn man has been arrested after allegedly setting himself on fire in the lobby of a Lower Manhattan office building where Google is a major tenant.
John Butch, 63, allegedly used an accelerant and a lighter to set himself alight at around 2.58pm on Friday, 28 August, at 315 Hudson Street, near Vandam Street.
According to reports, surveillance footage showed Butch entering the building at about 2pm, leaving shortly afterwards and returning roughly an hour later.
Investigators allege that he then removed fluid from a backpack and used it to ignite himself. His body and the bag were both engulfed in flames.
Security guards responded quickly, using fire extinguishers to put out the blaze before firefighters and police arrived.
Butch was taken to the burn unit at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center by emergency medical services. He is said to be in a stable condition.
The NYPD said no other people were injured.
Butch has reportedly been charged with arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Police also recovered a collapsible tactical baton from his charred backpack during a search of his belongings.
Authorities have not established whether Google was the intended target of the incident.
The 10-storey building is shared by several organisations and businesses. Google is its largest tenant, while other occupants include the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau and the New York Society for the Deaf, as well as retail outlets on the ground floor.
0 Comments
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on this platform as comments were freely made by each person under his or her own volition or responsibility and were neither suggested nor dictated by the owners of News PLATFORM or any of their contracted staff. So we take no liability whatsoever for such comments.
Please take note!