Police in Pembroke Pines, Fla., are trying to determine whether those who goaded a Florida 19-year-old to commit suicide bear any responsibility in his death, according to several reports.
"There is an active investigation," Sgt. John Gazzano of the Pembroke Pines Police Department told CNET News. He did not provide any other details.
Last week, the teenager set up a Webcam to broadcast himself taking an overdose of drugs on Web video service Justin.tv. The 12-hour ordeal was watched by hundreds of people, some who encouraged the young man to do away with himself.
"You want to kill yourself?" said one post to a message left by the teenager saying he intended to kill himself. "Do the world a favor and stop wasting our time with your mindless self pity."
Others attempted to contact police and save the young man.
This is believed to be the first suicide broadcast live to the Web from the United States. In Great Britain, a 42-year-old man hanged himself last year.
Updated at 6 p.m. PST: Adds comment from Michael Seibel, CEO of Justin.tv.
A 19-year-old man has committed suicide while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, according to a report at NewTeeVee.
The teenager took an overdose of pills while on camera and was apparently encouraged to do so by commentators on Justin.tv and a bodybuilding site, according to the report.
Justin.tv enables users to broadcast video live to the Internet. NewTeeVee said it confirmed the man's death with the Broward County medical examiner's office, which is near Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. This will undoubtedly raise questions about the power of Web video and whether its voyeuristic nature can go too far.
The young man apparently posted threats of killing himself to Web message boards in the past, according to numerous online reports. Because of this many of those who watched the man's suicide were skeptical that it was a legitimate suicide attempt and began mocking him.
Some viewers did take him seriously and contacted the Broward County Sheriff's Department. It appears that deputies broke into the man's room and discovered his body.
In response to the tragedy, Michael Seibel, CEO of Justin.tv, issued this statement to CNET News:
"We regret that this has occurred and respect the privacy of the broadcaster and his family during this time. We have policies in place to discourage the distribution of distressing content and our community monitors the site accordingly. This content was flagged by our community, reviewed, and removed according to our Terms of Service."
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