Man Sets Himself on Fire at NYC Red Cross

NEW YORK--A man walked into the high-rise offices of the International Red Cross yesterday ranting about human rights violations in Poland, then set himself aflame before two horrified employees.

The unidentified man was dead when an Emergency Medical Service team arrived at the 21st floor of the midtown Manhattan office tower shortly after 1:30 p.m., said EMS spokesperson David Billig.

International Red Cross and Red Crescent director Eigil Petersen, who witnessed the suicide, said the man had threatened to blow up the office before dumping gasoline on the floor and himself.

The man, as he had in previous visits, had complained in broken English about genocide and human rights violations in Poland. Petersen said he and another employee fled the office and called the Fire Department when the man set himself on fire.

"He screamed, and then became very quiet," Petersen said. "The tragic thing is he felt he had to commit suicide."

The man refused efforts to direct him to the Polish consulate or the United Nations before killing himself, said the other Red Cross worker, Debra Bunt.

"He said he wouldn't listen to us, and he wouldn't leave the office," Petersen said.

The Red Cross office, at 630 Third Ave., is a small one, housing only a few staffers and generally dealing with natural disaster relief. Petersen and Bunt were the only workers there when the self-immolation occurred.

A man who answered the telephone at the building's management office referred all questions to the police.

`Witch' Claims She Suffers Discrimination

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I.--A woman whose three foster children were removed from her home by the state says she's being discriminated against because she's a witch.

A licensed foster parent since 1991, Jessica Spurr said the three toddlers were removed last week after a Department of Children, Youth and Families case worker made a first-ever unannounced visit.

Spurr said the timing of the visit--four days after a newspaper article detailed her induction as a pagan high priestess--and comments made by the social worker show religious bias.

The state said Spurr's witchcraft was not a factor in the removal of the 2-year-old boy, 1-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl Spurr had taken care of for months.