Man Sets Self on Fire in Cross-Burning 'Prank'

Why yes, it did happen in Florida
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 16, 2013 12:12 PM CDT
Man Sets Self on Fire in Cross-Burning 'Prank'
   (Shutterstock)

It's a Halloween display gone very wrong: Police in Palm Bay, Fla., say a 50-year-old man suffered second-degree burns over half of his body when he tried to set fire to a Halloween display involving a wooden cross, reports Florida Today. He didn't necessarily have sinister motives, though. “It started as some kind of prank apparently," says a police spokesman. "We don't know if he was trying to light the cross or the candles but when he did, his clothes caught fire." And WFTV adds this understated line: "Authorities said the man had been drinking." (More Halloween stories.)

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