ORLEANS – Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. Air Force member who died after setting himself on fire Sunday outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, was previously a student in Massachusetts.
Nauset Public Schools said in a statement to WBZ-TV that it was “heartbroken to learn of the untimely death of one of our former students, Aaron Bushnell.”
“Mr. Bushnell was a student in the Nauset Public Schools between 2003-2007 and 2013-2014,” the school district said, via a spokesperson. “Our school community is saddened by Mr. Bushnell’s death and we offer our condolences to his family and friends.”
Airman died in apparent protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza
CBS News reports that Bushnell, a 25-year-old San Antonio resident, was making an apparent protest against Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A livestreamed Twitch video shared with CBS News shows a man identifying himself as an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force. Before setting himself on fire, he said he would “no longer be complicit in genocide” and that he was “about to engage in an extreme act of protest.” After setting himself on fire, he yelled “free Palestine” repeatedly.
The Gaza Ministry of Health says nearly 30,000 have died in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Last week, the U.S. vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the country’s military actions and rejected claims of genocide brought before the U.N.’s International Court of Justice
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