Death plunge at JP Morgan tower not suspicious, police say
By: Reuters with CNBC
Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 | 11:16 AM ET
A man fell to his death from JP Morgan's 33-storey tower in the heart of London's Canary Wharf financial district on Tuesday in what British police said was a "non-suspicious" incident.
Police were called to the glass skyscraper at 8:02 GMT, where a 39-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene after hitting a lower 9th-floor roof. Witnesses said the body remained on the roof for several hours.
The 39-year-old was named as Gabriel Magee, vice-president in corporate and investment banking technology at the firm, a source at JP Morgan confirmed . He had been with JP Morgan since 2004.
"No arrests have been made and the incident is being treated as non-suspicious at this early stage," London police said in a statement.
Police said they believed they knew the identity of the man but were awaiting formal identification.
In a statement JP Morgan said: "We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the JP Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends."
Workers in Canary Wharf, whose Manhattan-style skyscrapers constitute one of the most powerful financial citadels on earth, took to Twitter to express their shock at the death.
"The 9th floor roof of JP Morgan is visible from my office window," tweeted Hetal V Patel. "For a long time the body was left cordoned and unattended. Weird. #Wharf."
The JP Morgan building has been the headquarters of the bank's Europe, Middle East and Africa operation since July 2012. It was previously occupied by Lehman Brothers, whose staff left with their belongings in cardboard boxes after the investment bank filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008.
Home to Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, State Street and Thomson Reuters, Canary Wharf, which lies to the east of central London, is the spine of the only financial capital to threaten New York.
Though the details of Tuesday's incident are still unclear, occasional suicides by people working in London's most powerful banks have provoked criticism of the demands placed on some financial services workers.
A Bank of America exchange manager jumped in front of a train and another man jumped from a seventh-floor restaurant, both in 2012. A German-born intern at Bank of America died of epilepsy last year in London.
On Tuesday, when asked about the death of William Broeksmit, a former senior manager at Deutsche Bank, London police said a 58-year-old man had been found hanging at a house in South Kensington on Sunday afternoon.
By: Reuters with CNBC
Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 | 11:16 AM ET
A man fell to his death from JP Morgan's 33-storey tower in the heart of London's Canary Wharf financial district on Tuesday in what British police said was a "non-suspicious" incident.
Police were called to the glass skyscraper at 8:02 GMT, where a 39-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene after hitting a lower 9th-floor roof. Witnesses said the body remained on the roof for several hours.
The 39-year-old was named as Gabriel Magee, vice-president in corporate and investment banking technology at the firm, a source at JP Morgan confirmed . He had been with JP Morgan since 2004.
"No arrests have been made and the incident is being treated as non-suspicious at this early stage," London police said in a statement.
Police said they believed they knew the identity of the man but were awaiting formal identification.
In a statement JP Morgan said: "We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the JP Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends."
Workers in Canary Wharf, whose Manhattan-style skyscrapers constitute one of the most powerful financial citadels on earth, took to Twitter to express their shock at the death.
"The 9th floor roof of JP Morgan is visible from my office window," tweeted Hetal V Patel. "For a long time the body was left cordoned and unattended. Weird. #Wharf."
The JP Morgan building has been the headquarters of the bank's Europe, Middle East and Africa operation since July 2012. It was previously occupied by Lehman Brothers, whose staff left with their belongings in cardboard boxes after the investment bank filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008.
Home to Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, State Street and Thomson Reuters, Canary Wharf, which lies to the east of central London, is the spine of the only financial capital to threaten New York.
Though the details of Tuesday's incident are still unclear, occasional suicides by people working in London's most powerful banks have provoked criticism of the demands placed on some financial services workers.
A Bank of America exchange manager jumped in front of a train and another man jumped from a seventh-floor restaurant, both in 2012. A German-born intern at Bank of America died of epilepsy last year in London.
On Tuesday, when asked about the death of William Broeksmit, a former senior manager at Deutsche Bank, London police said a 58-year-old man had been found hanging at a house in South Kensington on Sunday afternoon.
JP Morgan employee who fell to his death named as Gabriel Magee Magee, a vice-president in IT, landed on ninth floor of 33-floor building in Canary Wharf and was seen by office workers
Haroon Siddique
The Guardian, Tuesday 28 January 2014 12.31 EST
An employee of JP Morgan investment bank who fell to his death from the firm's European headquarters during rush hour in London has been named as 39-year-old Gabriel Magee.
Magee, a vice-president in IT at the bank, landed on the ninth floor of the 33-floor building in Bank Street, in the busy Canary Wharf financial district, at about 8am on Tuesday. Police said they are not treating his death as suspicious.
A JP Morgan spokeswoman said: "We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the JP Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends."
Magee had been with the firm since 2004 and was described by a source as "a respected employee, well thought of by managers". He worked in the firm's corporate and investment bank technology department, and had previously worked as an application developer for Intel.
Magee was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
People in offices nearby on Bank Street spoke of their shock. David Payne said he arrived at the law firm where he works at 8.10am. He said: "A couple of my colleagues made me aware of what happened. They were upset after seeing a body of a gentleman, who appeared to have fallen from the top of JP Morgan in Canary Wharf. I witnessed the gentleman lying on the ground from my view from my desk. I believe the gentleman was in a suit, but I cannot be too sure. There was a significant amount of blood as well as broken concrete from the impact around him."
Payne said it was about four-and-a-half hours before the body, which was covered only by a small plastic sheet, was moved. "My colleagues and I, as to be expected, were upset by the incident. Around 12.30pm the body was moved with a cover put over the blood and damaged concrete and this still remains. I am not too sure what took so long as the poor man just appeared to be left alone."
Hetal Patel, a research analyst for FTSE, said people looking were looking at the scene through the window of the Bank Street office where she works when she arrived at about 8.15am. She said: "I am quite young and have just joined the [financial] industry so for me it was quite shocking. For most people [in my office] it was quite shocking."
Patel said the body could be seen from the window of the office kitchen, prompting some of her colleagues to avoid entering the room as a result.
London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 8.04am to Bank Street to reports of a person fallen from a height. We sent one ambulance crew, a duty officer, our hazardous area response team and London Air Ambulance to the scene. Sadly, a man in his 30s was pronounced dead at the scene."
The building has been the headquarters of JP Morgan's Europe, Middle East and Africa operation since July 2012. It was formerly home to another investment bank, Lehman Brothers, before it collapsed in 2008, triggering the global financial crisis.
Haroon Siddique
The Guardian, Tuesday 28 January 2014 12.31 EST
An employee of JP Morgan investment bank who fell to his death from the firm's European headquarters during rush hour in London has been named as 39-year-old Gabriel Magee.
Magee, a vice-president in IT at the bank, landed on the ninth floor of the 33-floor building in Bank Street, in the busy Canary Wharf financial district, at about 8am on Tuesday. Police said they are not treating his death as suspicious.
A JP Morgan spokeswoman said: "We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the JP Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends."
Magee had been with the firm since 2004 and was described by a source as "a respected employee, well thought of by managers". He worked in the firm's corporate and investment bank technology department, and had previously worked as an application developer for Intel.
Magee was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
People in offices nearby on Bank Street spoke of their shock. David Payne said he arrived at the law firm where he works at 8.10am. He said: "A couple of my colleagues made me aware of what happened. They were upset after seeing a body of a gentleman, who appeared to have fallen from the top of JP Morgan in Canary Wharf. I witnessed the gentleman lying on the ground from my view from my desk. I believe the gentleman was in a suit, but I cannot be too sure. There was a significant amount of blood as well as broken concrete from the impact around him."
Payne said it was about four-and-a-half hours before the body, which was covered only by a small plastic sheet, was moved. "My colleagues and I, as to be expected, were upset by the incident. Around 12.30pm the body was moved with a cover put over the blood and damaged concrete and this still remains. I am not too sure what took so long as the poor man just appeared to be left alone."
Hetal Patel, a research analyst for FTSE, said people looking were looking at the scene through the window of the Bank Street office where she works when she arrived at about 8.15am. She said: "I am quite young and have just joined the [financial] industry so for me it was quite shocking. For most people [in my office] it was quite shocking."
Patel said the body could be seen from the window of the office kitchen, prompting some of her colleagues to avoid entering the room as a result.
London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 8.04am to Bank Street to reports of a person fallen from a height. We sent one ambulance crew, a duty officer, our hazardous area response team and London Air Ambulance to the scene. Sadly, a man in his 30s was pronounced dead at the scene."
The building has been the headquarters of JP Morgan's Europe, Middle East and Africa operation since July 2012. It was formerly home to another investment bank, Lehman Brothers, before it collapsed in 2008, triggering the global financial crisis.
Exec plunges to death from JP Morgan skyscraper
USA TODAY 6:37 p.m. EST January 28, 2014
Gabriel Magee, vice president in Technology at JP Morgan Chase's London offices, plunged to his death Tuesday from the banking giant's riverfront skyscraper in London, reports from British news outlets say.
Magee, 39, was a senior manager in in the investment bank's technology department. An American, Magee had been with the company since 2004 and moved to London in 2007.
"We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the J.P. Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends," says JP Morgan Chase spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.
Magee, who had received favorable work reviews and an annual bonus, fell from the 33-story tower in the city's Canary Wharf section and was found on a roof belonging to the widening base of the building nine stories up, according to The London Daily Mail.
Scotland Yard was reportedly called to the scene about 8 a.m. local time. Detectives are not treating the death as suspicious, London media reports.
Witnesses reported seeing the covered body lying on the roof for at least four hours before authorities removed it.