The U.S. Air Force airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy as a purported demonstration against the Israel-Hamas conflict has passed away.
Police have identified the airman as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell from San Antonio. Clad in military attire, Bushnell recorded himself shouting “Free Palestine” before falling to the ground. During a livestream, he condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza as “genocide” and compared his actions to the immense suffering endured by the Palestinian population. Shortly after, he placed his phone aside, poured a liquid from a water bottle over his head, and ignited himself.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department received a report regarding an individual engulfed in flames outside the embassy shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday. However, according to D.C. Fire and EMS, upon the arrival of firefighters, the Secret Service had already extinguished the flames. Bushnell was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he ultimately succumbed to them.
An Air Force spokesperson verified that Bushnell was indeed an active-duty Air Force officer. According to his LinkedIn profile, Bushnell was also pursuing a career as a software engineer, describing himself as an “aspiring software engineer” who had been employed at a San Antonio-based company called DevOps from March 2023 until recently.
Several individuals have offered their condolences in the comments section of the post. Additionally, Hamas referred to Bushnell as “the heroic pilot” in a statement, despite no apparent evidence suggesting that the airman supported the Palestinian militant group.
Nevertheless, the Israeli Embassy in Washington reported that none of its staff members sustained injuries. Bushnell’s passing occurred amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which has now extended into its fourth month.
