Man Sets Himself on Fire in Lobby of New York Building Housing Google Offices

A 63-year-old man set himself on fire in the lobby of an office building at 315 Hudson Street in Lower Manhattan, which houses offices belonging to Google as well as the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau. The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. on Friday. Police say John Butch used a flammable accelerant before setting himself alight, prompting multiple emergency calls. He was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center with burn injuries and was reported to be in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.Butch was arrested and charged with arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Police said he is not an NYPD employee. Google confirmed the incident, saying the man appeared to have been attempting to gain access to another tenant’s space in the building rather than Google’s offices. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive and the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.