A man set on fire in San Francisco’s Mission District has succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
At about 10 a.m., officials say a female saw smoke walking down the alley of 24th and Osage Street in the city's Mission District when she noticed a man on fire. The female witness ran to a nearby café to get a bucket of water and asked the café to call 911 then ran back to pour water on the victim, police said.
"It was absolutely heroic. Absolutely," Lt. Rachel Murphy said. "It is unknown if it was self-inflicted, accidental or if there were suspects involved. Right now, it is unknown the victim’s age or race, but it is a male."
The victim, who is thought to be in his 50s, was transported to San Francisco General and is in critical condition, police said.
Officer Giselle Linnane said Tuesday there were no indications of a structure fire in the immediate area around the scene.
Police are investigating the matter as a suspicious death and are asking witnesses or anyone with surveillance video that could help determine how the victim was burned to come forward.
NBC Bay Area's Anoushah Rasta contributed to this report.
