Police officials have confirmed the identity of the man who set himself on fire at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last week and later died, according to TIME.
John Constantino, 64, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey covered himself in gasoline and set himself on fire late Friday afternoon, just one day after the nation's capital was already shaken from a shooting on Capitol Hill.
Although Constantino was alive and conscious when first responders arrived, he died at the hospital that night. Because the burns were so bad -- which ABC News reported damaged 80 percent of his body -- DNA and dental records were required to identify him.
Investigators are still unsure why Costantino lit himself on fire. Although some people speculated it may be related to the government shutdown, his family released a statement saying "his death was not a political act or statement, but the result of a long battle with mental illness," according to the Washington Post.
His family did not specify what type of mental illness he suffered from but remembered him as a "loving father and husband" and called it a "personal family matter and not an issue of public concern," asking for privacy from media outlets.
A neighbor, who said Constantino had relatives in the area that he may have been visiting, recalled him as a nice man.
"Just a sweet, sweet man," the neighbor said.
Katy Scheflen, a government attorney who was on temporary leave due to the shutdown, witnessed the incident and said it looked like an act after she saw a second man set up a tripod.
"It was obviously an intentional act," she said. "Somebody has a video of the whole thing."
The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. between the Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery. After joggers saw Constantino go up in flames, they immediately ran to his aid to put out the flames before a U.S. Park Police helicopter arrived and transported him to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
