A shopper who witnessed a man threaten to set himself alight in a Newtownabbey hardware store on Wednesday evening (October 29) has told the North Belfast News of his horror at what he saw.
Carnmoney man Patrick Taggart said he was entering the store around 7pm yesterday when he witnessed the man, who was in distress, covered in liquid.
“He was standing squeezing something over him like lighter fuel while at the same time shouting ‘I need help, I need help’. He was already covered in liquid before he started pouring more of it over himself.”
The PSNI and Fire Service later arrived where they negotiated with the man, who is eastern European, until two of his friends arrived to defuse the situation. A police spokesman confirmed he was later taken for medical treatment.
“Police in Newtownabbey received a report of a man in distress at a shopping centre in the Mill Road area at around 7.30pm on the evening of Wednesday 29th October. The man was later taken to hospital by police for treatment. A spokeswoman for B&Q confirmed an incident had taken place at their store but declined to offer any details.
