63-Year-Old Man Arrested in Lower Manhattan Office Building Fire
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A 63-year-old man who inexplicably set himself on fire Friday in the lobby of a Lower Manhattan office building has been arrested and charged with arson, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced Saturday.
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NBC NewsA 63-year-old man set himself on fire Friday afternoon in the lobby of a lower Manhattan building that houses Google’s New York offices — in an incident police say appears to have no clear motive.
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John Butch, of Brooklyn, walked into the lobby of 315 Hudson Street at around 3 p.m. and set himself ablaze, according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital with a burn unit in stable condition. No one else at the scene was injured.
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BreitbartJohn Butch is charged with lighting himself on fire with the help of a “lighter accelerant” in the lobby of a building that houses Google on Hudson Street around 3 p.m. Friday, police told news outlets.
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Butch was charged with criminal mischief, arson and reckless endangerment. Police have not disclosed a motive, and it remains unclear whether Butch intended to target Google specifically.
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BreitbartButch has also been charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, according to the NYPD.
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“We are aware of an incident that occurred today in the lobby at 315 Hudson, a building we share with other tenants,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “While the individual appeared to be seeking access to another tenant’s space in the building, we remain in close contact with local authorities.”
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NBC NewsIn a statement, Google suggested it did not believe it was the intended target. “While the individual appeared to be seeking access to another tenant’s space in the building, we remain in close contact with local authorities,” the statement said. “We are grateful to first responders.”
2 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post An explosion and fire at a Crown Heights NYCHA complex Friday night left one man dead, according to police and fire officials — and a lithium-ion battery was reportedly connected to the blaze.
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02 Breitbart A wanted suburban Los Angeles man who twice evaded pursuing officers by running onto a freeway was arrested when he walked into a Panda Express only to find the officers who had been after him taking their lunch break.
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Sources (3)
- nbc
- nypost
- breitbart