Facebook Employee Dies By Apparent Suicide at Company Headquarters

Attendees walk past a Facebook logo during Facebook Inc's F8 developers conference in San Jose, Calif., on April 30, 2019. (Stephen Lam/File Photo via Reuters)

A Facebook Inc. employee has died by apparent suicide at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, it has been confirmed.

Menlo Park police responded to a 911 call at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 with reports that a man had jumped off the fourth floor of the social network company’s building in the 100 block of Jefferson Drive, the City of Menlo Park said in a statement.

The man was unresponsive when members of the Menlo Park Police Department and Menlo Park Fire Protection District arrived to the scene. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly later.

“Firefighters and paramedics administered medical aid but were unable to revive the victim. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the press release read.

Menlo Park police believe the male employee died by “apparent suicide.”

“Preliminary investigation by the Menlo Park Police Department indicates that there is no foul play involved,” the statement read. “The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office responded and transported the victim to the San Mateo County Hospital.”

Facebook Inc. confirmed the man was an employee of the social media giant in a statement to TechCrunch.

“We were saddened to learn that one of our employees passed away at our Menlo Park headquarters earlier today,” a Facebook spokeswoman said.

“We’re cooperating with police in their investigation and providing support to employees. While the family is being notified, we have no information to share. We hope to provide an update when we learn additional information from law enforcement.”

The identity of the man has not yet been released, however, a source told Bloomberg that he worked as a full-time software engineer at Facebook.

Suicide Statistics and Prevention

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2017, 47,173 Americans died by suicide while 1.3 million people attempted suicide.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates on June 8, 2018, revealing that suicide rates have increased by 30 percent since 1999. However, the report points out that there were a variety of factors other than mental health conditions that lead to suicide.

“Suicide rates increased significantly across most states during 1999–2016. Various circumstances contributed to suicides among persons with and without known mental health conditions,” the report stated.

For a suicide prevention number within the United States call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

For those living anywhere else the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide can provide contact details for suicide help.