DEARBORN, Mich. – A 60-year-old father of two set himself on fire Wednesday afternoon at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, police said.
The man's son was clearly shaken when he spoke to Local 4. He said Dearborn police showed up at his door shortly after the incident.
"(They) started asking questions about what was going on and said that he was set on fire and that he was transferred to Detroit (Receiving Hospital)," the man's son said.
He said his father is on disability with a back injury. Police said the dual motive of the man's actions was suicide and a domestic violence incident.
The 60-year-old man's wife is being treated at Beaumont Hospital, where the fire was set.
The man's son said there were no warning signs.
"No clues or anything," he said. "This is out of the blue. This is out of nowhere."
The man walked into the hospital carrying a big clue: A two-liter soda bottle that police and hospital sources said was filled with gasoline. They said the man reeked of gasoline.
Security was called and the man was followed to the lobby as he got onto an elevator, telling employees that he was a vendor. They wouldn't let him close the elevator doors.
When security arrived, he set himself on fire, police said. They said it appears he was on his way to his wife's room.
"This situation was extremely scary," Kelly Smith, Beaumont Dearborn's president, said. "There was smoke, there was fire extinguisher exhaust, there were burned items, so it was a scary scene."
An employee with a fire extinguisher put out the fire, likely saving the man's life and keeping him from hurting others.
Sources said the man burned up to 30 percent of his body, but he's alert and talking to investigators at this time.