US Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC

A US Air Force member who set himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC in protest of the Isreal-Hamas war has died, a US official said.

The news comes approximately 24 hours after The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in DC responded to calls about the man setting himself ablaze outside of the embassy.

The man, who is identified as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, filmed himself and live-streamed it onto the social media platform, Twitch, claiming he was acting to “no longer be complicit in genocide”.

Though Secret Service officials successfully extinguished Bushnell, he suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at a local hospital, the MPD told The Independent.

The US Air Force also confirmed the man’s death with The Independent, saying he was an active duty airman and died as a result of his injuries.

The MPD is working with the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to investigate the incident.