Sunday, July 20

A man fell from a GW Hospital window ledge Saturday afternoon and landed on the edge of an inflatable mat about 40 feet below, after threatening to jump for four hours.

The young black male, who has not been identified, was in “very critical” condition after respondents took him inside the hospital and performed CPR, D.C. Fire Department Spokesperson Alan Etter said. Hospital officials would not provide his name due to privacy laws.

Officials arrived on New Hampshire Ave. at about noon and spent almost four hours trying to convince the man to come back inside the hospital as he paced the ledge wearing only boxer shorts. Shortly after officials placed an inflatable mat next to the building, the man crouched down, positioned his body over the ledge and let go.

Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jimmie M. Riley said the man fell on the side of the mat, partially hitting the ground, at about 4 p.m.

“When he left the scene, it looked serious,” Riley said. “When he was on the stretcher, he was breathing.”

The man had been admitted to the hospital Friday night because of injuries sustained from a car accident, Riley said.

More than 30 MPD and D.C. Fire Department vehicles arrived after receiving a call about a potential suicide attempt. Once on the scene, police blocked off several of the streets surrounding the hospital including New Hampshire Avenue, 23rd Street and part of Washington Circle.

Hadas Gold and Eric Roper contributed to this report.

View our blog post from Saturday.