A woman entered Democratic Rep. Danny Davis’ (Ill.) office in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon and lit herself on fire.
A 42-year-old woman drank from a bottle of hand sanitizer and then proceeded to pour it all over herself, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The woman then pulled out a lighter and set herself on fire.
Davis’ aides attempted to extinguish the woman, but she ran out of the doorway before they could help her.
The woman was admitted to Chicago’s Stroger Hospital in serious condition.
Michelle Tannehill, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police, said the woman is now in stable condition after being treated for serious burns.
Rep. Davis was not in the office when the incident occurred but told the Chicago Tribune, "We don’t know her and we don’t know exactly what she may have been coming for. We really don’t know why. We never got to that point."
Davis used this incident to confront the lack of mental health services in his district.
"This is a big issue for us because we have people like her who don’t necessarily set themselves on fire, but are obviously experiencing mental health challenges. And we get them almost daily," he said.