Titan Lee-Hai, a freshman at New York University, fell 15 stories to his death after jumping from a university residence hall in the East Village on Monday.
Lee-Hai, 18, fell at 3:20 a.m., police said.
Fellow freshman Shazam Khurshid confronted him right before it happened, in an elevator.
“I met him in the elevator and he was completely naked,” Khurshid told NY Daily News. “He punched me in the face.”
Lee-Hai asked him where he was.
“I didn’t respond. He looked like he was on drugs, a lot of drugs,” Khurshid said.
When he got to the first floor, he reported Lee-Hai’s behavior to security--but it was too late. The fire alarm started going off, indicating that Lee-Hai had went to the roof.
“It was pretty obvious that he was not in his senses,” Khurshid said.
The university said in a statement that it is investigating what happened.
Spokesman John Beckman said in a statement that the university has help for students who are affected by the situation.
“We have had crisis counselors at the residence hall since early this morning, providing support to student residents and the hall staff. Their presence on site will continue,” he said.
“We want to remind students of the availability of help around the clock at NYU … and we want everyone to remember that you will not get in trouble for calling in professional staff … to help when someone is struggling with an immediate problem.”
