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The city of Raleigh held a press conference Monday afternoon on the death. Read this story for more details.
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Editor’s note: This story contains reporting about suicide, a topic that will be disturbing to some readers. If you are having thoughts of suicide or other mental health struggles, call or text 988 for a 24/7 hotline. Call 988-PEERS-NC for the North Carolina peers warmline to talk to someone with experience with substance abuse and mental health concerns.
A man’s death in downtown Raleigh on Saturday is “being investigated as a suicide,” according to the Raleigh Police Department.
Medical staff and law enforcement responded to 318 S. McDowell St. on Saturday, where a man was found hanging from a tree in a parking lot about a half-block from Nash Square, according to a Raleigh Police Department news release.
Despite “life-saving measures” the man was pronounced dead at the scene, and “there appears to be no foul play involved,” according to the news release sent late Saturday night.
The death is being investigated as a suicide, and the North Carolina Office of the Medical Examiner will conduct an investigation, according to the news release.
In the news release, the Raleigh Police Department said it wanted to “take a moment to acknowledge a disturbing post that is currently being shared regarding this investigation.”
Read more Raleigh police, mayor to address investigation into man’s death in downtown
“We understand that this loss may be deeply painful for those who knew and cared about the individual,” according to a statement from the Raleigh Police Department. “We ask everyone to please be mindful of the family and friends who are grieving and to avoid sharing unverified information or speculation while investigators continue their work.”
The Raleigh Police Department has not responded, as of 4 p.m. Sunday, to a request for additional details about what indicates that this death is a suicide and why foul play is not suspected.
The News & Observer does not normally report on suicides nor the method of suicide, given research showing that news stories about suicide may lead to imitation. The N&O is reporting on this case given the public location of this death, the significant public discussion and the historic context of African-Americans being publically lynched and killed in North Carolina and the South.
“Yesterday, an African-American male was found hanging from a tree and RPD along with state and federal officials are investigating,” said Raleigh City Council member Corey Branch on Facebook on Sunday. “I ask that we let RPD and the SBI do the investigating and more information to come.”
North Carolina tracks violent deaths, including suicides, and found there were nearly 1,600 reported suicides in 2023, the most recent data available. The majority of suicides among non-Hispanic, African-American men (63.3%) involved firearms, followed by hanging (21.1%), according to state data.
More than half of all reported suicide deaths between 2020 and 2024 in North Carolina were by firearm; 21.4% of suicides were by hangings, according to state data.
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This story was originally published August 16, 2026 at 4:38 PM.