A Florida man was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after allegedly setting himself on fire inside a grocery store, according to police.
The Plant City Police Department said officers responded to a disturbance call Wednesday afternoon at the Publix Supermarket in the Walden Woods shopping center at 2202 James L. Redman Parkway after a 911 caller reported a man was on fire inside the store. Plant City is about 25 miles east of Tampa.
Police said bystanders worked to extinguish the flames until first responders could arrive. Plant City Fire Rescue transported the 30-year-old man to a local hospital, where he was in critical condition.
According to police, the man doused himself in accelerant and lit himself on fire, though it was unclear why. Police did not release the man's identity, and said the state's Division of Investigative and Forensic Services would be taking the lead on the investigation.
Latonya Byrd and her 16-year-old daughter, Promise Byrd, told Fox 13 they were in line at the deli when the fire started.
"We hear a loud commotion towards the front of the store and I turn around and look and there's amber orange flames all in the front of the store," Byrd said. "Immediately we ran."
"It was orange flames, big orange flames. There was a lot of flames. These weren't just small flames, these were really, big flames and I got so scared I had to run," her daughter told the outlet.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Plant City Police Department at 813-757-9200.
--with reporting by TMX
