PILSEN — Pilsen's Mole de Mayo Festival was cut short Sunday night when a man set himself on fire on 18th Street and injured himself.
The 7:30 p.m. Sunday fire spread to a nearby Metro PCS store, and firefighters cleared the area to put out the fire.
The 33-year-old man survived the fire. Contrary to earlier reports, police could not confirm whether the man was wrapped in an American flag.
Police said he was standing in the 1500 block of West 18th Street at 7:30 p.m. when he set a fire, said Officer Bari Lemmon, Chicago Police spokeswoman.
It is not clear what the man was trying to ignite, but police believe he at least accidentally set himself ablaze and likely didn't mean for the building to ignite.
The fire in the cell phone store was extinguished and one person was taken to University of Illinois-Chicago Hospital for a cut, according to the Fire Department's Twitter account.
The man was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, Lemmon said.
Two officers were taken also taken to Stroger Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Lemmon said.
At the recommendation of police, Festival organizers shut down the Mole de Mayo festival about a half hour early Sunday night, according to ABC7 Chicago.
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