A man who says he was disgruntled with the Veterans Affairs system strapped fireworks to his chest and lit himself on fire in front of the Georgia Capitol on Tuesday.
The incident prompted the Capitol building in Atlanta to be evacuated and the surrounding streets to be shut down. No one else was injured.
Mark Perry, director of public information for the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said the man’s condition wasn’t immediately known. He was burned but could still speak to officers.
State troopers told WSB-TV that the 58-year-old veteran from Mableton had told authorities that he was upset with the VA. The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
The man drove his car to the Capitol and walked up to the building with fireworks, homemade incendiary devices on him, according to reports. He then lit himself on fire, and a state trooper brought a fire extinguisher and put it out. The incident took place around 10:30 a.m.
A small Nissan Sentra possibly belonging to the man was still parked in front of the Capitol. It was being investigated by a bomb squad unit.
