River rushes before me; it swells white mixed into turbulent, translucent blue-green. Walking past informational signs detailing about some 1889 fire— a tragedy. Combined with passing over the running water across various bridges with sight of where the old ones were; I began to wonder about a specific type of what is considered a tragedy in association, that being suicide by taking a jump.
Researching into the topic, it would come up rather short in surprise. While in 2024 the city exceeded the norm of the entire state with 120 recorded successful acts committed with an average of 21 per 100,000 residents whereas the average for Washington state itself stands at only about 14.8 per 100,00 people. Then sizing down to solely Spokane statistics, the data shows most attempts occurring on the Monroe Bridge with around 400 since 2005 and a majority talked down with only an average of 2.5 deaths a year; making up only about 4% of the actual suicide cases out of roughly 300 hospitalizations a year. Ebbing and flowing with consistency, whereas the vast majority of suicides are enacted by self-inflicted gunshots, followed by hanging, and with more rising rates, overdoses.






