San Diego
A 22-year-old recruit committed suicide at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Wednesday by hanging himself in a shower, a Marine Corps spokesman said.
Pvt. Jason Bricker, 22, of Parkersburg, Ill., who was scheduled to complete boot camp March 25, was found in his barracks’ shower just before 10 a.m. by another recruit, said Maj. Jerry Broeckert. A drill instructor tried unsuccessfully to revive the recruit and he was pronounced dead at Sharp Cabrillo Hospital at 10:45 a.m., Broeckert said.
Broeckert said Bricker was a “gear guard” left behind at the barracks during a training exercise to watch over equipment and belongings. He hanged himself with a waist strap from an exercise machine that assists Marines with pull-up exercises.
Broeckert declined to answer questions about whether Bricker had been having emotional problems.
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