The unidentified suspect was taken down by cops Wednesday afternoon in D.C. and he was fully engulfed in flames. It appears he might have had some sort of protective suit on because he was not collapsing as he strolled across the lawn with the Washington Monument in the background ... and less than a mile from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
You can see cops rushed in with extinguishers, and law enforcement tells us he was immediately taken into custody and rushed to a hospital. More than 70 officers swarmed the area from multiple agencies. Although several tourists were in the area ... no one else was injured.
The Secret Service is aware of the incident, saying some of their personnel are on the scene.
It is unclear what the man's condition is right now.
WARNING: Graphic Footage
12:09 PM PT -- According to the emergency dispatch audio -- obtained by TMZ -- the man suffered burns on 85% of his body. There was also a suspicious package on fire near the man which was extinguished.
11:35 AM PT -- A law enforcement source tells us the man was transported to the hospital with "life-threatening" injuries.
Comment: In a similar incident in April, a man using a motorized wheelchair attempted to light himself on fire outside the White House, before being detained by the Secret Service.
According to this list on Wikipedia, 7 Americans have self-immolated during this decade, 8 if we include anti-war protester Malachi Ritscher in 2006...