Home of Brothers With AIDS Burns
A fire Friday destroyed the home of three AIDS-infected brothers whose court-ordered school attendance this week provoked death threats, and the blaze left their uncle hospitalized with smoke inhalation.
The three Ray brothers, all hemophiliacs, and their parents were not home at the time, the family’s attorney, Bill Earl, said. Earl said the boys’ father, Clifford Ray, told him the cause “appeared to be some sort of a firebomb.”
Earl noted that the assertion had not been confirmed. DeSoto County firefighter Scott Crawford refused to say if arson was suspected.
The uncle, Andy Ray, 27, was in stable condition at DeSoto Memorial Hospital, a spokesman said.
Earl said the fire followed a Friday rally by groups opposed to the entry of the three brothers, Ricky, 10; Robert, 9, and Randy, 8, to Memorial Elementary School after their admission was ordered by a federal judge.
The family has been subjected to death threats, and several bomb threats this week at the school forced officials to evacuate the building.
Last weekend about 1,000 people attended a rally protesting the boys’ presence in the school.
School officials had barred the brothers from school last fall after the boys tested positive for antibodies to the AIDS virus. The boys’ parents sued, claiming discrimination, and a federal judge in Tampa ruled the youngsters should be educated with other children.
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