Last week, after Apple announced its first ever decline in iPhone sales, its market capitalization plummeted by more than USD 40 billion in a matter of 15 minutes.
Unfortunately for Apple, that was not the worst news it was going to receive that week.
Just a day later, one of Apple’s employees was found dead on campus!
In a press conference held later that day, the Sheriff’s Office acknowledged responding to a 9-1-1 call from the Apple HQ at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday. The caller was also an Apple employee who informed the police that there was a “person down.”
On arriving at the scene, the police found “the body of a young male who was later confirmed to be an Apple employee.”
According to Reuters, the body was of 25-year-old Edward Mackowiak. A LinkedIn page by his name (which has since been deleted) placed him as a software engineer at Apple. The company has confirmed the same.
On Friday, it was clarified that the cause of death was suicide.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office released a press statement confirming reports that a gun was found on the scene. The statement read, “The Medical Examiner determined the manner of death was suicide and the cause was a gunshot to the head.”
Apple also released a statement expressing their regret at the unfortunate incident. It said:
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a young and talented coworker. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends […]. We are working to support them however we can in this difficult time.”
The cause for his suicide is still unknown. The police are working with Apple to get to the bottom of the case.
We are really saddened by this incident and hope that nothing like this ever happens again. Our thoughts are with everyone involved.