Chicago activist Jedidiah Brown is reportedly doing well after an apparent suicide attempt in the city’s downtown late Sunday.
Brown was transported to the University of Chicago Hospital Sunday night after police were able to talk him down after he posted a live video to Facebook, saying that he planned to kill himself, DNAinfo Chicago reports.
Brown shut down Lake Shore Drive for about one-and-a-half hours Sunday evening as police tried to talk him down, DNAinfo notes.
“We’re here to help you; no one is going to hurt you,” police could be heard saying. “This is not the answer.”
In the video that was posted online, Brown is seen holding a gun, and at one point, he even points it to his head.
“I’ve always loved this city and I love my family—I love everybody and I’m so sorry, but it’s over, I can’t recover from this,” a crying Brown is heard saying in the video.
On Monday afternoon, the activist took to Facebook to express that he had had “the worst day of my entire life,” adding that he’s “just picking up the pieces.”
“Im not wanting to die anymore but whoa the pain is cutting deep. I however have no more to lose, gloves are staying off. This freed a part of me that must take away the power of pain in passion,” Brown wrote on Facebook.
Brown added that he was “encouraged by the humanity” shown to him by the Chicago Police Department and by other people and politicians from across the globe.
Activists who came to help Brown Sunday night said that he was doing much better Monday.
“Yes, Jedidiah is OK,” activist Lamon Reccord said on Facebook Live Monday morning.
According to DNAinfo, Reccord explained in the video that Brown was upset over the death of a nephew he considered a son, and dealing with other difficulties, including being an activist in a city that has been plagued with violence.