On June 10 at around 4 a.m., the body of a black man named Robert Fuller was found hanging from a tree, with a rope around his neck, near Palmdale City Hall in California.
Suicide or hate crime?
According to Lt. Brandon Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau, all the evidence that they have gathered from Fuller's body is pointing to suicide, but they are still waiting for the results of his autopsy and information from Fuller's family and friends regarding his struggle with mental illness.
On June 11, the officials of Palmdale City released a statement and extended their sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Fuller.
The officials also said in the statement that this is not the first death case since the pandemic began since data shows that there is a spike in mental health issues due to the overwhelming effects of COVID-19 on the economy and the people.
City Manager JJ Murphy said that a lot of people are now suffering mental health issues and the city of Palmdale wants everyone to know that they can seek help. Local resources such as Mental Health America of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, and AV Vet Center are open to assist anyone who needs treatment.
Since the beginning of 2020, the City of Palmdale has partnered with mental health experts in the state to host a virtual Mental Health Town Hall every other week.
The officials believe that it helps the residents of California gain important tools that can help them cope with mental health issues and they can lean on their support groups who have the experience and knowledge in the matter.
The next session of the virtual Mental Health Town Hall is scheduled this June 15 at 10 a.m. In order to participate, people can send an email to info@cityofpalmale.org and note "Mental Health Town Hall" in the subject line.
The staff from the city hall will give you detailed information about the meeting and will provide you an access code. On the official website of Los Angeles, California, you can find mental health resources.
Those who need to talk to professionals about their mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety can call the Department of Mental Health hotline at 800-854-7711, or text LA to 741741, they are open 24-hours.
Modern-day lynching?
The story of Robert Fuller's death quickly went viral on social media, with thousands of people calling it "modern-day lynching."
Reality star Kim Kardashian retweeted an article of the story and is calling the public to demand the authorities to do more investigation. Singer Billie Eilish, supermodel Cara Delevingne and other celebrities posted about the case on their Instagram stories.
Other Twitter uses to say that it is impossible for Fuller to climb on the tall tree by himself, tie the rope on one of the branches and tie the other end around his neck.
The Black Lives Matter movement calls it a hate crime and an obvious attack of racists towards the black community, who for the past two weeks since the death of George Floyd, are calling for the end of systemic racism and police brutality in the country.
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