Man dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound at Temple University
A man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Liacouras Walk at Temple University Thursday night, police said.
A 25-year-old man walked to the middle of Liacouras Walk, a crowded thoroughfare on Temple University's main campus in North Philadelphia, and committed suicide early Thursday evening, police said.
The man stood in the center of the walkway, located just east of Broad Street between Berks and Norris streets, and shot himself around 6:35 p.m., police said. There were dozens of people in the area at the time of the incident.
A text and email message from Temple police alerted students and employees of the university of the incident, and several students gathered near a dorm at Norris Street and Liacouras Walk to watch police on the scene. Cops blocked Liacouras off between Pollett Walk (Berks Street) and Norris.
"We didn't hear the gunshot," said Paul Dehel, a freshman who lives in the dorm near where the incident took place. He added that Temple police notified students when the scene was no longer dangerous, but advised them to avoid the area.
"There were a lot of people there when it happened," said Nick Cutrona, another freshman who stood watching police on the scene. "It was scary."
A follow-up message sent to the Temple community after the incident said the man was not a current Temple student.