Man sets fire to himself outside Australian parliament
A man who set fire to himself today in front of a group of schoolchildren outside Australia’s parliament was in critical condition, police said.
The man doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself alight outside the main public entrance to the Canberra parliament as visiting schoolchildren stood nearby.
Parliamentary security guards grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the flames.
The man was still conscious when he was taken to hospital. He was later transferred by helicopter to a special burns unit in Sydney.
‘‘At this time we don’t know why this person has done what he’s done, we don’t know who he is, we don’t know the motivation for it,’’ a police spokesman told reporters at the scene.
Police questioned bystanders, including some of the schoolchildren. Forensic experts were making tests on samples taken from the scene.
Police said they were not aware of any threats being made to the government, lawmakers, diplomats or anyone possibly related to the business of the parliament.
