Airforce veteran sets himself ablaze in front of Georgia Capitol building

With flammables all over his body, an Air Force veteran named John Michael Watts set himself on fire as he stood in front of the Georgia Capitol Building.

The incident occurred on June 26th in the morning around 10:30 a.m. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later found out Watts’ identity.

The police saw 58-year-old Watts driving up and parking on Washington Street. He was near the west entrance of the Capitol.

CBS46 reported that a press conference was being held inside the building at the time.

Troopers revealed that Watts got out of his car and walked towards the Capitol. He had homemade incendiary devices and fireworks attached all over him.

Soon after, he poured gasoline all over his body and set himself ablaze. Follow us at AmoMama USA for more details about the incident.

A trooper was quick enough to run towards Watts from the Capitol bringing a fire extinguisher with him. The trooper successfully put out the flames.

Georgia State Patrol Captain Mark Perry said, “He was strapped with some home incendiary devices and firecrackers and doused himself with some kind of flammable and attempted to set himself on fire. Almost simultaneously one of the captains saw what happened, came out and actually had a fire extinguisher. He was able to douse him quickly"

After the explosion, the troopers recalled that Watts was still conscious and was able to speak. He expressed his frustrations about the treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Following the incident, Watts was brought to the Grady Memorial Hospital where it was discovered that he was in critical condition; having burns in almost 90 percent of his body.

According to the troopers, nobody else was harmed during the explosion.

By mid-day, some roads were blocked off near the area while authorities went ahead with the investigation.

Along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the Atlanta police bomb technicians also searched the scene after they asked people inside the Capitol and Judiciary Buildings to evacuate.

The investigators were able to clear the scene and had towed Watts’ car by Tuesday night.