A man committed suicide Thursday morning by jumping from the observation deck of Buffalo's City Hall onto a lower roof.The incident happened around 10 a.m. Authorities recovered the man's body from the exterior fifth floor landing on the building's southwest side. His identity is unknown at this time, but he described as a white male in his mid-20s.
Police and fire crews responded to the scene, along with Homicide Squad detectives and Crime Scene Unit personnel.
South Elmwood Avenue was blocked off for a time behind City Hall where it intersects at Niagara Street to Perkins Drive, but reopened soon after. A large crowd of spectators began gathering at the scene as word of the incident spread.
It is not yet known whether the person was a City Hall employee. Police spokesman Mike DeGeorge says there are no signs of foul play, according to homicide detectives.
DeGeorge says the victim apparently scaled a wall of the observation deck on the 28th floor and jumped to his death.
City Hall is closed to the public for about two hours, but has since reopened. Most operations have returned to normal.
