Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Manhattan Court
In a shocking and tragic incident, a man who set himself on fire outside the Manhattan court where former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial is taking place has passed away.
Maxwell Azzarello, 37, made a dramatic statement by dousing himself in a flammable liquid and throwing conspiracy-theory pamphlets into the air, just as jury selection for Trump’s trial concluded.
Despite the presence of Trump in the building for jury selection, he quickly left the scene during the unsettling incident.
Azzarello was rushed to the hospital in critical condition on Friday and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries later on, as confirmed by CBS News.
New York City police revealed that Azzarello had been declared dead by hospital staff early Saturday morning, as reported by NBC.
The security of the court was not compromised during the incident on Friday, and emergency officials assured that the trial resumed with alternate jury selection shortly after the incident. Opening statements are scheduled to commence on Monday.
According to investigators, Azzarello, who had traveled from Florida to New York just a week ago, had no prior criminal record in New York and his family in Florida had no knowledge of his trip to the city.
New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey described Azzarello as behaving strangely in the park before igniting himself with the flammable liquid and distributing propaganda-based pamphlets, related to a conspiracy theory.
Witnesses recounted the chaotic scene, with Julie Berman stating, “It was hot, and it didn’t make a lot of sense. The whole thing happened so fast… it took me like 20 seconds to figure out what was going on.”
NYPD investigators retrieved the scattered pamphlets after Azzarello’s self-immolation and have deemed the area safe after collecting evidence.
Despite the valiant efforts of officers to extinguish the flames, three NYPD officers and one court officer sustained minor injuries in the process.
Officials are now reevaluating security measures outside the court in light of this tragic event. — BBC
