MISSION BEACH — San Diego police are investigating after a woman in her 30s set herself on fire at Mission Beach Saturday evening in front of several horrified witnesses.
The woman was with a man near a gazebo at Mariner’s Point about 6:45 p.m. when she doused herself with a flammable liquid, police said. She then walked up to one person and asked for a lighter.
When she did not get a lighter, the woman walked over to a barbecue grill, reached in, grabbed a hot coal and set her arm aflame, police said.
She then used her arm to set the rest of her body on fire.
The woman, believed to be homeless, was taken to a hospital where she is being treated for second- and third-degree burns over 50 percent of her body, police said.
Mental illness is real, folks. Real and sad. Hope this woman gets the help she needs because the last thing we need on our San Diego beaches are people lighting themselves on fire. What if the person she walked up to did have a lighter? “Sure, here ya go… WOAH! OH GOD, NO!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU’RE ON FIRE!! STOP DROP AND ROLL! RUN INTO THE OCEAN! WHY DID YOU DO THAT? Can I have my lighter back?”
-bp