Man Jumps from Houston Skyscraper

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Not your friendly neighborhood Spiderman...

 

HOUSTON (AP) A man scaled partway up one of Houston's best-known skyscrapers Monday, then jumped to his death as a crowd watched, police said.

 

The man, using a small pick, had reached about the 30th floor of the 64-story Williams Tower when he plunged, said Jay Evans, a fire department spokesman.

 

Police said they recovered a driver's license and a note containing a message of a political nature. Authorities declined to reveal the man's identity or details of the note, other than to say it did not mention plans to jump.

 

The man had rosin to apply to his hands, and used the pick on the window molding as he moved higher, authorities said. But he apparently did not have a harness, belt or suction cup, ''the normal professional equipment you'd normally see on someone trying to climb a building,'' Evans said.

 

Police received the first call about the climber at 6:53 a.m. and witnesses said he jumped from the 901-foot, black glass tower at 7:45 a.m. Evans said the man had somehow reached the outside of the building from the 10th floor and then climbed up the southwest corner from there.

 

Rescue personnel and a crowd of onlookers had gathered below, television helicopters hovered above and motorists from the West Loop freeway, the busiest in Texas, all had a view of the black-clad man as he climbed and fell.

 

Police tried to talk to the man from an open window but he continued to ascend. Witness Pat McGarey, a tower worker, said the man was yelling or singing and periodically waved his hands before taking an extended pause.

 

''It clearly looked like he jumped as opposed to falling,'' McGarey said.

 

The art deco-inspired skyscraper, formerly known as the Transco Tower, was built in 1983. It was designed by the architect Philip Johnson.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

What politically could get him so upset.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Who knows. I'm just glad he decided to air out his grievances by jumping off a building as opposed to ramming a plane into one. He was probably a very disturbed dude who had a mega case of the holiday blues.

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

From the title, I thought this was similar to all of the businessmen jumping out of their windows at work during the Great Depression..

 

I guess however that it was just some stupid guy who thought he could climb up a building.

[Guest Texas Small Arms 09]

Someone has footage but on the news tonight they said it was way too grusome to even show. He was on the parking side so not many people were gathering yet and he wasn't stopping traffic. From the report below it made it sound like traffic was stopped watching him but he wasn't even facing the side that faces the freeway. Just goes to show you how reports get all doctored up by the media.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

Nothing like cleaning out the gene pool.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Someone has footage but on the news tonight they said it was way too grusome to even show.

I find it hard to believe it was in the least any more gruesome than network tv showing 9/11 footage morning/noon/night for about 2 weeks after 9/11 then a year later all over again.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Well, if there's footage that was made, it's available. Just a matter of looking.

[Guest Flyboy]

It'll probably be on Kazaa if anything.