Authorities have called off the search for the supposed attackers who lit a man on fire after investigators determined the man set himself ablaze in a suicide attempt earlier this week, Los Angeles Police Department officials said Wednesday.
Neighbors spotted the man engulfed in flames about 6:30 a.m. Monday near the corner of Calvert Street and Ranchito Avenue in Van Nuys.
LAPD Detective Robert Bub told NBC4 the man was “going through some personal issues and this was an aborted suicide attempt.”
Robert Efford saw the on fire outside his home.
"We walked outside and saw a car pulled over there and a lady was screaming, 'I just called 911, there’s a fire,'" Efford told NBC4 Monday night.
That blaze had engulfed the man and two pieces of burning clothing, which he’d apparently torn off himself.
"We grabbed a blanket and put it over him and a pillow under his head. I felt really bad. It was pretty scary," Efford said.
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Efford said he’d overheard LAPD detectives speculating that someone may have had a gun to the man’s head before they doused him in lighter fluid and struck a match. Bub on Wednesday said no crime had occurred and investigators are not looking for any attackers.
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