A woman set herself on fire in a suicide attempt on Tuesday afternoon at U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis’ West Side office.

About 3 PM, the 43 years old woman entered the office at 2746 W. Madison St. Chicago police has informed that she drank hand sanitizer, poured it on herself and set herself on fire in an attempt to kill herself. She suffered burns and was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.

The 7th District congressman was not in the office at the time, but he said that  he was on his way back from a meeting and returned after the incident was under control. Davis said that, “To me, it’s an obvious case of mental illness. It’s a reaffirmation of the tremendous need for additional mental health services in our community.”

Davis said that he was informed that the woman entered the office and began picking up various items around the room. Eventually, the woman was told to stop picking up staff members’ things and was also said that they would call the police if she would not listen.

When the woman picked up a bottle of hand sanitizer and began to drink it, and then poured the liquid on herself and pulled out a lighter, a member of Davis’ staff got a fire extinguisher immediately, to put out the flames and called 911.

Davis said of people who stop at his street-level office,“We get people a great deal who have these kinds of issues. We do the best we can for them.”

Davis said that at least once a day a person with a mental illness, who is homeless or is addicted to drugs, stops by his office. His staff frequently works with area homeless shelters, mental health organizations and hospitals to help people get into treatment.

Also Read: Trump into Controversy, US rapper invited him to Chicago

By Prakriti Neogi