Boy, 14, jumps to his death from NYC’s The Vessel at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards in yet another fatality at the sculptural tourist attraction. Boy’s family left stunned.
A teenage boy jumped to his suicide death from The Vessel at Hudson Yards in NYC in front of his ‘stunned’ family that included his parents, sister and grandmother.
The 14-year-old boy from New Jersey was said to have leaped from the eight floor just before 1pm, Thursday afternoon.
It’s the fourth suicide at the 150 foot vertical sculpture attraction since it opened in March 2019 with the billionaire developer now considering closing the structure for good.
‘We thought we did everything that would really prevent this,’ Stephen Ross told The Daily Beast. ‘It’s hard to really fathom how something like that could happen. But you know, I feel terrible for the family.’
The tourist attraction had reopened just two months ago after it was closed following a spate of similar deaths which saw three other people jump to their deaths since it opened in March 2019.
7.29.21 / by Adam / HUDSON YARDS, Manhattan – A 14 year old boy took his life by jumping off The Vessel. It happened just before 1pm Thursday at W33rd & 10th Ave. This is the fourth fatal self-inflicted incident at The Vessel in two years. #thevessel #hudsonyeards FULL VID ON YT pic.twitter.com/tXZSQvjTF1
— LLN NYC (@loudlabsnyc) July 29, 2021
New rules failing to deter suicides
New rules were recently drawn up in an effort to prevent further suicides including a ban on solo visitors with a minimum of two people per visit. Staff were also placed about the structure looking for individuals in distress.
There was even ‘enhanced guest engagement and screening procedures to detect high-risk behaviors among visitors’ which was supposed to ‘significantly enhance the safety of the experience.’
The size of the staff and security force was tripled, and signs were put up offering help to people in distress.
The teen involved during Thursday’s jump was with four members of his family.
‘A family of five doesn’t fit any profile,’ Ross said.
‘We are heartbroken by this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family of the young person who lost their life,’ spokeswoman Kimberly Winston said. ‘We are conducting a full investigation.’
Adding, ‘We are conducting a full investigation. The Vessel is currently closed.’
‘…if you want to jump there’s no way anyone can really stop you,’
Responding NYPD officers and paramedics said there was nothing that could be done for the teen who had leaped in front of horrified family members.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the teen boy jumping to his death. The identity of the teen to date had yet to be publicly divulged.
A construction worker who was nearby at the time said he heard a ‘bang’ as the boy landed on the ground.
‘That’s not a sound I’ll ever forget,’ Anthony DeMayo teen told the nypost. ‘It’s horrifying that this keeps happening. You can see looking at the barriers that they’re easy enough to climb over.’
One tourist said there was very little security guards could do to prevent determined jumpers.
‘Once you’re inside nobody makes you stay close to your buddy. There are a couple of security guards on every level, but if you want to jump there’s no way anyone can really stop you,’ Irina Popov told the nypost.
On January 11, Franklin Washington, 21, jumped to his death. He had been wanted for the murder of a 55-year-old woman in San Antonio, Texas,
One month prior, Yocheved Gourarie, 24, of Brooklyn, jumped on December 21.
Eleven months after the structure opened, in February 2020, a 19-year-old NJ rugby player, Peter DeSalvo also leaped off the Vessel.
