The Teenage Boy Who Killed Himself in London, Was Talking About Suicide

A 'very able' schoolboy killed himself by jumping from Tower Bridge into the Thames after viewing and posting material about suicide online during lockdown, an inquest has heard.

Zaheid Ali, 13, took his own life after getting off the bus to school early to jump off the bridge in London on 20 April 2021, with his body being pulled from the water eight days later near a pub in Wapping, east London.

Inner South London Coroners Court heard that one witness swam into the water in a bid to save him but only his school jacket and bag, which contained a suicide note, were found. 

The Year Eight pupil's suicide note contained lyrics from a Japanese song which tells the story of a 14-year-old girl who kills herself.

He had also followed someone in the US who had taken their own life, posted a 'countdown' to his suicide on YouTube, and written on Twitter about his desire to kill himself, the hearing was told.