A teenager who livestreamed a suicide attempt is alive and recovering after witnesses — including a representative from Facebook — contacted police about what they saw online.
According to the Macon, Georgia, newspaper The Telegraph, a teen girl livestreamed a suicide attempt on Tuesday evening at around 7:30 p.m, prompting several people who saw the post to contact Bibb County police and help lead them to her rescue. A Facebook representative also reportedly called 911.
Deputies arrived at the teen’s home within 30 minutes of the emergency calls, and found the girl still with a pulse. She was taken to the hospital where she is recovering.
“It’s a good thing that the people watching this called it in,” Bibb County Sheriff David Davis told The Telegraph. “Those people did the right thing.”
In the last year, there have been several high-profile incidents of suicides, accidental deaths and even murders livestreamed on social media. Most of those stories have ended in tragedy, but increased scrutiny around an epidemic of social media-broadcast violence, particularly among teens, may have been a contributor to the quick response from witnesses and Facebook in response to the Macon teen’s suicide attempt.
On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the social media platform would be adding 3,000 additional staff dedicated to reviewing and flagging content for possible crimes and self-inflicted injury.
“All social media is is a conduit for attention,” Davis told the newspaper. “Even in this tragic situation, this young lady was looking for attention, and thankfully, the right people were watching. … It could have been more tragic.”
Photo collage: Facebook/Instagram screenshot