Okla. Senior Facing Eviction Lit Himself on Fire, Tried to Torch Deputies Before They Rescued Wife from Blaze
Anthony Goulding, 82, was killed in the fire
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An Oklahoma man died after setting himself on fire while sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve him an eviction notice.
Harrowing body-camera footage released by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office shows the moment Anthony Goulding, 82, started a fire that quickly engulfed his home. Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said Goulding appeared to throw a gas can at one of the two female deputies.
Deputies had to rescue Goulding’s wife, who has Parkinson’s, from the fire. One of the officers suffered a minor burn.
In the video, two deputies enter the home and speak to Goulding’s wife, who is sitting on the couch. The deputy then turns and Goulding is seen down a hallway pouring fluid from a gas can. As the deputy approaches him he pulls out what appears to be a lighter. He then lights the floor in front of him and is immediately covered in flames, which quickly spread around the rest of the room.
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The two deputies then went back into the living room to help the woman out of the Oklahoma City home. The two deputies, unable to carry the woman, who is unable to walk on her own, had to drag her out of the house as the blaze spread.
At a briefing, Johnson said one of the deputies serving the eviction notice had previously spent time with Goulding and his wife trying to help arrange a place to stay following the eviction. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office tells PEOPLE the woman, who was not injured during the fire, currently has a place to stay.
The spokesperson also confirmed that a dog was killed in the fire.
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