A 58-year-old Wal-Mart employee who said he “couldn’t take it anymore” lit himself on fire in a parking lot near the Bloomingdale store where he worked late Thursday night and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said this morning.
In an interview, his son said his father went to work last night with nothing seeming out of the ordinary. “This had nothing to do with the economy. I want to make that clear,” he said, adding that the family may never know the reason for the public suicide.
The Carol Stream man, who worked the overnight shift, was in a parking lot of an adjacent sporting goods store in the west suburban strip mall when he set himself on fire with lighter fluid around 10 p.m., said Randy Sater, a watch commander with the Bloomingdale Police Department.
At the Walmart
Larry, I pray for you and your family.
You made me laugh and smile at work.
I feel sorry for the pain you were in.
I feel that everyone around you was somewhat reponsible for this horrible tragedy.
I wish someone could had seen signs at work to help you not to suffer.
I wish you did not have to go through this alone…
If only we could have interviened…
I pray you are not in pain or suffering anymore.
Anne