NEW YORK -- A former employee of a Fox station in Austin, Texas, shot and killed himself Monday outside of the News Corporation building, the midtown headquarters of Rupert Murdoch-owned media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Fox News.
The Journal reported that police had identified the man as 41-year-old Phillip Perea of Irving, Texas, and that Perea had been handing out fliers that accused his former employer of ending his career. The paper also reported that he was carrying a suicide note.
FOX Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy addressed the shooting Monday in a memo to staff that was provided to The Huffington Post.
"This morning, a former employee at FOX 7-KTBC (Austin) committed suicide outside FOX Television Stations' (FTS) headquarters in New York City," Abernethy wrote. "He was employed at our Austin television station for ten months and has not been with the station or FTS since June 2014. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy."
A man identified as Phillip Perea had recently published accounts of alleged workplace bullying on Twitter and YouTube. The last tweet was posted at 7:51 a.m. Monday.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.