A dead body was found in one of Apple's conference rooms in Cupertino, California, on April 27, Wednesday. Initial investigations carried out by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office revealed that the deceased was an employee of the tech giant.
As for the cause of death, the coroner's office of Santa Clara County ruled out foul play and declared that the employee committed suicide by gunshot to the head. According to Mercury News, the dead man was later identified as Edward Mackowiak, 25, whose job post in Apple was not immediately known but based on his social media accounts, he worked as a software engineer.
The sheriff was notified of the incident when someone called the county's dispatch at around 8:38 a.m. The original transcript of the call revealed that a female employee was found bleeding, with an obvious head injury. The caller further said that security people escorted the woman out of the room.
However, it was not clear what happened her as she was not mentioned again in the actual investigation. When the police arrived at the scene, all that they said was that a Hispanic man was found lifeless with self-inflicted gunshot wound in the head.
Despite this confusing detail, the investigators believed that no other person is involved in the case which they ruled as suicide. "Through further investigation, they determined there were no other individuals involved and they believe it was an isolated incident. There was no one else on campus or in the public at risk," The Sun UK quoted Santa Clara Sheriff office's spokesperson Sgt. Andrea Urena as saying.
In connection to the case, Apple issued a statement on April 29 and it reads: "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a young and talented coworker." The company also extended its condolences and deepest sympathies to Mackowiak's family, friends and co-workers.
Mackowiak graduated at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013. He was a consistent Dean's lister who completed a degree in computer engineering.
Watch Sgt. Urena gives statement to the press as they investigate Mackowiak's death inside Apple's 1 Infinite Loop campus: