Anthony Goulding, an 82-year-old man, appeared to set himself and his house on fire Monday rather than comply with an eviction notice served by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, KFOR 4 News reported.
Police body camera footage captured the incident. The video begins with police rushing toward a room where Goulding appears to hold a red gas canister and pour out its contents on the floor.
GRAPHIC VIDEO WARNING: OK County Sheriff release body cam footage, as a deputy trying to carry out an eviction is confronted by an elderly resident who set his bedroom & himself on fire. That deputy was burned trying to pull the man (who did not survive ) to safety. (thread 1/2) pic.twitter.com/H6gN1Nb8Xq
— Tara Blume (@tcblume) April 2, 2024
“Ready?” the elderly man says. The deputies then direct the man to stop, but he appears to proceed to light the liquid gas on fire. A female officer tries to grab Goulding, but by then the fire had already started. The deputy retreated in the face of the size of the fire and informed dispatch of the incident.
Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III reported in a Facebook post that Goulding perished “in the blaze.” Goulding’s dog also died in the fire, according to KFOR 4 News. (RELATED: At Least 29 Killed After Fire Consumes Istanbul Nightclub)
Goulding’s wife, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, managed to survive due to police quickly escorting her out of the building, the outlet reported. The couple were slated to go “to an extended stay facility” that the police had arranged and “an Uber was waiting out front to take them to that location”, Johnson said.
Johnson also said that both the deputies who served the eviction notice were not seriously injured during the incident. One deputy had minor burns, KFOR 4 News reported.