1,000 people watch French teen alleged rape victim livestream on Periscope suicide at rail track

Because of available technology, there is a growing trend among people who commit suicide to broadcast the attempt. Some succeed, others don’t.

On Wednesday, a female French teen jumped in front of a commuter train and succeeded in her suicide try. What is horrifying about the incident is that besides her livestreaming her suicide using Periscope, a video sharing app, people who were watching her, instead of being aghast, were even cheering the 19-year-old woman from Arpajon, France.

Gizmodo reports that among the comments of the estimated 1,000 people who watched the suicide were: “We’re waiting,” “Always a pleasure to see you,” I think it’s fun” and “Give us a hint.” The viewers apparently did not take the woman’s distress seriously.

Before the unnamed woman broadcast live her suicide on Periscope, she posted several times on social media about her plan to take her life. She claims to have been raped and identified her rapist in her posts. But local police say they are treating the rape allegation with caution, reports Le Point.

“The video I am doing right now is not made to create the buzz but rather to make people react, to open minds, and that’s it,” the woman said on Periscope which immediately removed the video. However, Periscope has several mirrors on YouTube although the suicide part was blacked out.

The video ended with the woman’s phone being picked up by an apparent emergency worker, with the train behind them visible. “I am under the train with the victim; I need to move the victim,” the man was heard saying. The woman was declared dead at the scene.

Recent suicide tries that were broadcast live include 21-year-old Swede Marcus Jannes who in 2010 swallowed a large dose of painkillers and then hung himself in front of his webcam. In early May, a 17-year-old girl in Ohio filmed her friend being raped by a man they met that day only at the mall. She only filmed it because of the “likes.”