Grove Suicide at Parking Structure Shocks Weekend Shoppers

By Dennis Romero Mon., Jul. 2 2012 at 7:00 AM

Robb Wilson / Flickr

A 29-year-old man jumped to his death in front of shocked shoppers at a Grove shopping center parking structure in the Fairfax District last night, police said.

It was a busy day at the center, and some Twitter users reported that Justin Bieber sightings had caused some commotion earlier in the day. The suicide was reported at 7:29 p.m., according to an L.A. Fire Department statement.

According to the LAPD, reports of shots fired before the suicide were untrue:

The unidentified man jumped from the seventh floor of the eight-story parking structure of the mall, which is next to the Farmers Market at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. There was no shooting, cops said.

There were news reports that the man was with friends when he jumped.

Later in the evening The Grove issued this statement:

Google Maps

We are so saddened by the young man's death tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Twitter was abuzz with news of the death at the popular mall:

Some dude just committed suicide at the Grove in front of us
— Sterling Brim (@SteeloBrim) July 2, 2012

@Dustondo seriously. So glad I saw it first before my kids and rushed them in the opposite direction
— Priscilla Uribe (@PrisUribeRN) July 2, 2012

At the grove today and got off the elevator right after someone committed suicide. Thank goodness my daughters didn't see
— Priscilla Uribe (@PrisUribeRN) July 2, 2012

[With reporting from City News Service / @dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

Fairfax District, Justin Bieber, LAFD, LAPD, mall, suicide, The Grove

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katie

To donate to his family to help with the unexpected funeral costs, please send via Paypal to brianhenrydonations@gmail.com. Or find wire transfer info here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/173586149440489/?ref=notif¬if_t=group_added_to_group Brian was 26, a hard worker, a talented architect and signs point to a very recent sufferer of mental illness. 26 and 27 are the ages in men when bipolar show up. He wouldn't have done this in his right mind. But he's gone now and we want to honor him. Please help.

Ujmeo

*Killing oneself in front of others is uncalled for*

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Yuval Kremer

Somebody needs to explain the Times saying "...police were initially called to the shopping complex...after a report of shots fired...", who jumps only 7 floors? (that's a good way to become a quadraplegic, not commit suicide), and the Times article says "Several people on Twitter reported seeing the man jump...", but then describes people seeing the aftermath, not the actual jumping (and how would they see it unless they were looking up at the spot he jumped from exactly when he jumped?)...sounds very fishy to me...hope all the surveillance/security camera footage has been preserved !

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Ben Banks

The guy could have hit a number of innocent bystanders, children included. Killing oneself in front of others is uncalled for especially when you can kill them too.

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Rickinator69

People complaining about where he killed himself rather than feel bad for the guy. is this what people in that state are like? sure, you dont want your kids to see it, but that's pretty self centered. on a side note, couldnt they have called it something besides 'twitter' and posting messages a 'tweet'? it just sounds idiotic.

Pattytronic

I agree. Every inch of that parking facility perimeter would have been safe to jump from. He picked the one spot where it's a miracle he didn't land on anyone. If he shot someone and then shot himself, as people often do, would you be asking why people don't feel pure sympathy? I feel sympathy, but it's definitely challenged by the fact that it almost seemed like he wanted to take others out with him and make a statement at any cost to everyone else.