ANAHEIM : Man, 21, Who Set Himself Afire Dies
A 21-year-old man who doused himself with gasoline and then set himself on fire has died, police said Thursday.
Police identified the man as Robert James Binckley of Anaheim. He died shortly after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at UCI Medical Center in Orange, police said.
Binckley walked to Engel’s AM/PM service station at 2401 W. Lincoln Ave. about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
He paid for $1 worth of gas, emptied his pockets of personal possessions, sat down in the middle of the 16-pump station and ignited himself, police said.
Binckley, a regular customer at Engel’s, bought a packet of cigarettes along with the can of gasoline, said Kathy Engel, the station’s owner.
“There were gas and flames everywhere,” Engel said. “I really thought the place was going to go up in flames.”
Police said bystanders put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
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