Woman Sets Self On Fire At Congressman Danny Davis' Office
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Congressman Danny Davis said a 43-year-old woman who set herself on fire in his West Side office yesterday afternoon was stabilized, but had serious burns.
Davis said it was just after 3 p.m. when the woman came into his office, started picking things up, and was told that if she didn't stop, the staff would have to call police.
"She then said, 'Well, I'm not going to jail,'" Davis said. "We had a bottle of hand sanitizer sitting on the counter. So she just picked that up and started to drink from it, and then she took it and started rubbing it onto her clothes, and lit it with her cigarette lighter."
Davis said a staffer grabbed a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
The Congressman said he was gone when all this happened, but returned to the office as the woman was being treated for her injuries.
Davis said it's not unusual for his office to get walk-ins who have, as he puts it, "mental illness issues," or are homeless or are drug addicts.