Around 8am on August 16, shop owners and passersby on Xipu Lu, in Longgang District, were shocked when the body of a small boy fell from a great height, hitting the ground in front of a real estate office. Shortly afterwards, a middle-aged man followed, landing about two meters away.
Longgang police and rescuers arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and confirmed that both were dead. On Weibo local police revealed that the two were grandfather and grandson, both by the last name of Xu. The elder Xu was 53 years old, while his grandson was only 3. They had fallen from the 14th floor rooftop of a building in the Hongji Garden residential area.
The Longgang Police's post about the deaths was succinct, with few details provided.
Although the cause and circumstances of the death are still unclear, a note was found on the grandfather’s body. Longgang police told Shenzhen Economic Daily reporters that it talked about the heavy “pressures of life,” leading some to suspect that the deaths may have been the result of a double suicide attempt. Police say the incident is still being investigated.
Some other details may lend credence to the suicide theory, including the fact the rooftop of the building is surrounded by a railing that is 1.5 meters tall, nearly impossible for a small child to scale alone. Also, because the 3-year-old fell first, followed by Mr. Xu, some witnesses conjecture that the grandfather pushed the child over the railing before throwing himself over.
Since the afternoon of August 17, the Longgang Police have not released any further updates on the incident, and so the public remains in the dark about this tragedy.
[Images via JSTV, Weibo, Jiangsu.China.com.cn]
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