Cameron Dabaghi, the 21-year-old who took his life by leaping from the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building on Tuesday, left a suicide note in Connecticut. In it, he apologized, and said he'd be jumping off the George Washington Bridge or the Empire State Building—but he left no explanation.
The Austin Texas native was a junior at Yale's Berkeley College, where a friend told the Daily News, "He was joking around [on Monday]. He never mentioned anything about being upset or going to New York." Last night a candlelight vigil was held at the school, where his sister (a sophomore there) told the group, "I needed to ensure that he was remembered as he deserves—as a selfless and thoughtful individual who shaped who I am today."
Dabaghi's parents are both doctors, and his older brother is a Duke grad and Fulbright scholar. Before attending Yale he was at Deerfield Boarding School in Massachusetts; friends noted that he felt under constant pressure to perform well at school.
There were reportedly seven other people on the observation deck he took his plunge. Moments before a security guard tried to talk him down from the 10-foot safety barrier he had climbed; according to the Post, the guard said, "You don't have to do this!"
