S. Jersey vet dies after setting self on fire

A man who set himself on fire outside an Atlantic County veterans-affairs clinic on Saturday has died at a Philadelphia hospital, police said Tuesday.

The incident happened about 1:15 p.m. Saturday in front of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' clinic in Northfield, which was closed at the time.

Northfield Police Chief Paul Newman said Tuesday that it appears the 51-year-old man from Egg Harbor Township committed suicide. He said the man was a veteran and a patient at the clinic, where he was being treated for mental issues.

Newman said he did not know why the man set himself on fire. He said the man was flown by emergency helicopter Saturday to Temple University Hospital's Burn Center, where he died at 11:10 that night.

- Julie Shaw