By Jorge Casuso

March 1, 2021 -- A woman jumped to her death from a Santa Monica Place parking structure late Saturday afternoon, marking the third suicide at the upscale shopping mall in less than six months.

Police responded to a call shortly before 5 p.m. reporting that a woman was standing on the upper ledge of Parking Structure 8 near Colorado and Broadway, police said.

When officers arrived, the woman, who was Black, "was standing outside the safety fence hanging on," said Lt. Rudy Flores.

Afraid she might jump, witnesses had been trying to talk to her, when "with no warning, she let go and fell to the ground," Flores said.

She survived the fall but "against all life-saving efforts was pronounced dead," he said.

The fatal jump was the second public suicide in Santa Monica this year, the other having taken place January 11 at the mall's other parking structure near 4th and Broadway.

It was the seventh suicide from a Downtown parking structure in the past two and a half years and the 15th public suicide in the city in little over three years, according to an analysis of police data by the Lookout.

Since the string of parking structure suicides began on September 5, 2018, two have taken place at Structure 2 on the 1200 block of 2nd street, two at Structure 4 on the 1300 block of 2nd Street and three at the two Santa Monica Place structures.

A fourth suicide took place at the outdoor shopping mall last September when a man leaped to his death from the third floor onto the center court.

There were five public suicides in Santa Monica last year and eight in 2018, according to data provided by the coroner's office.

Nationwide, suicides accounted for 47,511 deaths in 2019, making it the 10th leading cause of death, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Whites have the highest suicide rate, with around 19 per 100,000 nationwide, according to data released by the CDC in 2017.

That compares with 7.1 for both Hispanics and Asians/Pacific Islanders and 6.6 percent for Blacks.

Anyone experiencing thoughts of suicide should contact the Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text “Home” to 741741, for immediate assistance 24 hours a day.

The National Suicide Hotlines are available 24/7 at 1-800 SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) and 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

Additional help is available at the Didi Hirsch 24-hour Crisis Line: 1-877-727-4747 (en Español: 1-800-628-9454)