District of Columbia authorities are investigating a bizarre incident in which a Logan Circle man who had been in a running dispute with police and neighbors over a ladder was hospitalized with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and fire injuries.
Fire fighters forced themselves into a home at 1709 Vermont Ave. NW shortly after noon Thursday to check on the well-being of the homeowner, Nathaniel Rabinowitz, D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said.
Rabinowitz, 60, has been resisting police and neighbors’ attempts to remove the fire-escape ladder from the side of his home. Police believe burglars are climbing the ladder to enter neighbors’ homes through the skylights.
Neighbors have filed a lawsuit, and police have been trying to get a warrant to seize the ladder as evidence.
Firefighters entered the two-story row house Thursday and found a fire raging on the first floor, Etter said.
After extinguishing the blaze, fire crews found Rabinowitz on the second floor, suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. Rabinowitz also suffered from smoke inhalation.
Rabinowitz was taken to a hospital in critical condition. No one else was hurt.
Etter, who was on the scene when firefighters entered the house, said he didn’t hear gunshots.
Fire marshals were investigating the cause of the fire. The blaze damaged row houses on both sides of the structure.
