Man set himself on fire, died outside east Fort Worth Buddhist temple, police say
A man burned to death outside an east Fort Worth Buddhist temple about 8 p.m. Wednesday after police said he set himself on fire in the area of 4700 E. Rosedale St.
Police said the preliminary investigation suggested the man, whose age and name were not released, started the fire himself. It’s unclear whether it was intentional or an accident.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found on a sidewalk in front of fenced-in property that is the grounds of Chùa Hương Đạo, a Buddhist temple.
A monk at the Vietnamese temple who identified himself to a reporter as Rev. Nguyen said he and other monks knew nothing about what happened. Nguyen told the Star-Telegram that a witness across the street saw several cars stop when the man was burning and people try to stop the fire before firefighters and police arrived.
A video of the incident, circulating on social media, showed multiple bystanders attempting to put out the fire as the man, engulfed in flames, lay on his stomach on the sidewalk. Bystanders tried to cover the man in what appeared to be blankets or towels, as others poured water from plastic bottles onto the man.
The man appeared to still be alive at the time of the video. Although the man was not yelling or making noise, he appeared to occasionally move up and down and may have at one point attempted to stand.
Police directed any further questions to the Fort Worth Fire Department.
A spokesperson for the fire department said investigators were not yet releasing any information Thursday afternoon, including whether the fire was accidental or intentional, what was used to start the fire or any indication of motive.
The fire department’s arson investigators are handling the case.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 9:02 PM.
