Georgia teen attempts suicide on Facebook Live, saved by viewers calling 911

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A Georgia teenager was found alive by police after she attempted suicide on Facebook Live, but viewers who saw the video called police to let them know what was going on.

Bibb County sheriff’s Sgt. Linda Howard said that someone had called 911 to report that the girl was unconscious with a bag over her head, but police couldn’t find the girl at first, despite looking at her listed home address as well as another address obtained from the school.

Finally, both a Facebook employee and the girl’s grandmother called police to say that the girl was at her grandmother’s house. The grandmother was not home but had been told of the attempt.

When officers arrived, they found the girl’s brother, who did not know about the suicide attempt and directed the police to the bathroom. The girl had removed the bag and was breathing when police entered, according to Howard.

— Jesse Jackson calling for a Facebook Live moratorium — 

This incident comes as Facebook has come under fire for several graphic videos being uploaded to their live feeds. On Wednesday, the social media giant announced that it would be hiring 3,000 more employees to monitor reports of alarming videos in addition to the 4,500 who already do so.

“Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen people hurting themselves and others on Facebook — either live or in video posted later,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an online post. “It’s heartbreaking, and I’ve been reflecting on how we can do better for our community.”

Taking down the disturbing videos is just part of the process, he added.

“Last week, there (was) this case where someone was using Facebook Live to broadcast, or was thinking about suicide, and we saw that video and actually didn’t take it down and helped to get in touch with law enforcement to use that live video to communicate with that person and help save their life,” Zuckerberg said.

“So a lot of what we’re trying to do is not just about taking the content down but also about helping people when they’re in need on the platform, and we take that very, very seriously.”