A day after setting himself on fire in Washington, D.C., a climate activist, Wynn Bruce, 50, of Boulder, Colorado, died, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Around 6:30 p.m., the event occurred on the plaza in front of the courthouse. He was flown to a nearby hospital, but he did not survive the flight.
According to Wynn Bruce’s Facebook profile, he was both a Buddhist and a climate activist. As of 2020, Bruce posted on Facebook a mysterious message that featured the date of his death as well as a fire emoji.
Bruce’s death was described as “an act of compassion” by a Buddhist monk from Boulder, Colorado.
“This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha [Buddhist community],” Dr. K. Kritee wrote. “This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to the climate crisis. We are piecing together info but he had been planning it for at least one year.”
Investigators are still trying to figure out why the guy set himself on fire. The event did not result in any further injuries.
Residents and schools in the Northwest region of the city were put on lockdown and shelter-in-place earlier in the day after a shooter opened fire in a residential neighborhood. They subsequently discovered the gunman’s body. A spokesman for Supreme Court stated Friday that Bruce’s death was not connected to the shooting and “not a public safety problem.” A self-immolation episode occurred in Washington, D.C. this week, and it was unsettling.
After setting himself ablaze outside the White House in 2019, Arnav Gupta of Bethesda, Maryland, was arrested. He succumbed to his injuries and died soon after.
In protest against the Vietnam War, pacifist Norman Morrison set himself on fire outside the Pentagon in 1965 and died as a result of his actions.