19 year old French Teenager Commits Suicide Live On Periscope Video Streaming App

A French teenager live-streamed her suicide Tuesday afternoon on video streaming service Periscope, according to reports from French newspaper Info France. An investigation has been opened by French police.

The 19-year-old victim has yet to be publicly identified. [Photo by Romain Perrocheau/Getty Images]
Content warning: this story discusses sensitive subjects including suicide and rape. Also note that all quotes have been translated from French and may not be completely accurate.

According to the report, the young woman, age 19, threw herself in front of an RER C line train at the train station in Égly, Essonne, hours after announcing that she had to do something live. Reports indicate that more than 1,000 fans connected to watch the broadcast.

According to MetroNews, just before the teen’s suicide, she appeared on video, smoking a cigarette and stating that she intended to “send a message” with her act.

“Right now, I’ll explain everything. You’ll understand why. What’s going to happen, it may be very shocking. This video is not made for the buzz, but to send a message.”

Her original statement in French, for those who would prefer the untranslated version, reads “Tout à l’heure, je vous expliquerai tout. Vous comprendrez pourquoi. Ce qui va se passer, ça risque d’être très choquant. La vidéo n’est pas faite pour faire le buzz, mais pour passer un message.”

Moments later, the screen went black, and the sound of rescuers could be heard in the background. Rescuers (doctors from SAMU, the French emergency medical services, or Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente,) arrived on scene, too late to do more than record the death of the teenage victim. Eagle-eyed observers of the Periscope video had managed to identify the site as Égly station, but were unable to notify rescuers in time to stop the suicide.

According to le Parisien, which first broke the story, rail traffic was interrupted in both directions for 18 hours while police reconstructed what had happened.

The teenager allegedly explained the reasons for her actions by admitting that she had been the victim of rape, and reports indicate that she gave the name of her alleged rapist before jumping. The act was also recorded by the Égly station’s CCTV cameras, and, after the arrival of firefighters, police seized the young woman’s phone, which is now in the hands of Égly prosecutors and the local Brigade Territorial Gendarmerie, who will attempt to determine the exact circumstances which led to this tragedy.

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3084354/french-teenager-commits-suicide-live-on-periscope-video-streaming-app-breaking/#R6WwzhEhVJcxjg7z.99