Man Kills Self at Ground Zero

Fox News is reporting that a man has offed himself at the site of the WTC, possibly because of George Bush’s re-election.

A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia shot and killed himself at ground zero Saturday morning, authorities said.

The man, Andrew Veal, of Athens, Ga., was found atop the structure housing the 1 and 9 subway lines after a hotel worker spotted what he believed was somebody sleeping inside the site around 8 a.m., said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A shotgun was found near the body, Coleman said. No suicide note was found, he said.

Veal apparently was distraught over President Bush’s re-election, Newsday reported Saturday on its Web site edition, citing an unnamed police source. The newspaper also said the man was a registered Democrat who opposed the war in Iraq.

Coleman said he could not confirm Newsday’s account.

Police were investigating how Veal entered the former World Trade Center site, which is protected by high fences and owned by the Port Authority.

Veal worked in a computer lab at the University of Georgia and was planning to marry, friends said Saturday.

Not meaning to make light of this but, if Veal did indeed take his own life over Tuesday’s decisive election, it seems a wee bit of an over-reaction. At least he didn’t pack on an explosive belt and go for a more serious statement.