Man Sets Himself On Fire Inside Google Office Building

A 63-year-old man set himself on fire Friday in the lobby of a Lower Manhattan building that houses offices for Google, authorities said.

The unidentified man self-immolated inside the building on Hudson Street near Vandam Street just before 3 p.m., according to the NYPD and FDNY.

Multiple people called 911, and first responders rushed the burned man to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition, officials said.

Only a black backpack and a few scraps of debris were left behind in the aftermath, just outside the building that also houses the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

It was not immediately clear what was used to set the blaze or why he set himself on fire.

Google occupies 410,556 square feet in the building, The Commercial Observer reported in 2024.

“We are aware of an incident that occurred today in the lobby at 315 Hudson, a building we share with other tenants,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

“While the individual appeared to be seeking access to another tenant’s space in the building, we remain in close contact with local authorities. We are grateful to first responders.”

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OMG. A 63 year old man has set himself on fire in the lobby of the Google office building in Manhattan.

He was rushed to the hospital after multiple people called 911, and is listed in stable condition.

Only a backpack was left behind. pic.twitter.com/HADKHMIe5o

— Kentucky Girl (@Kentuckygirl1) August 28, 2026

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Police in New York City said Thursday that a man died from severe burns near the United Nations headquarters, and activists and a media outlet of exiled Tibetans identified him as a Tibetan who set himself on fire in an appeal for independence.

A New York City Police Department spokesman said police responding to an emergency call made around 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday found the man badly burned.

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said, adding that an investigation was ongoing. Police did not name the man.

Voice of Tibet, a media outlet of exiled Tibetans, said Tibetan activist Logba Rangzen “self-immolated outside the U.N. headquarters in New York after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity.”

He was an Uber driver and went to the scene with a Tibetan flag, local news site amNewYork reported. The website quoted fellow Uber driver Lobsang Paljor as saying he knew Rangzen from gatherings in the Tibetan community. Paljor told the news website that Rangzen “was enraged by the restrictions the Chinese government had placed on his countrymen.”

The United States and the European Union have expressed concern about China’s new ethnic unity law, which went into effect this week and gives Beijing the legal basis to take action against people outside its borders.

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Outside the UN in NYC, a man wearing a Tibetan flag set himself on fire.

Yesterday, dozens gathered outside of the EU parliament to protest China’s “ethnic unity” law that they say is destroying Tibetan cultural identity. pic.twitter.com/POmpWgt952 https://t.co/AG4g13RODY

— NewsForce (@Newsforce) July 3, 2026

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