Trained police negotiators spent three hours talking to Shaun Dykes Seventeen-year-old Shaun Dykes killed himself by leaping from a multi-story car park in Derby city centre. Tragically, teenage suicides are not unusual, but what made the case of Shaun Dykes so shocking was that he was allegedly heckled and even goaded by members of a crowd gathered at the scene during the three-hour ordeal on Saturday, 27 September. The crowd comprised a wide range of ages. Today Programme reporter Andrew Hosken visited Derby to try and piece together events which led to Shaun's death. 'Public execution' Alasdair Kay, director of the Derby City Mission, witnessed much of what happened that day and told Today: "I was shopping with my family and couldn't work out why it was taking so long to get out of the car park... (but) as soon as I came out I saw a young lad at the top of the parapet at the shopping centre." He likened the scene to that of a "public execution". "People were filming… we could hear people shouting "jump you…" followed by a stream of expletives. They weren't all just young people, some were middle-aged. To be honest with you I was sickened." Also in the multi-story car park was Haley Mackay and her team of valets washing cars. She said: "I saw him up there but didn't see him fall." Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. It has since been claimed onlookers took photographs of Shaun's body after he had thrown himself off the building. Mysterious motive But who was Shaun Dykes, the vulnerable young lad who faced such goading? He was raised in a village not far from Derby, his parents had long separated and his mother had recently split from her boyfriend. After dropping out of a recent business course he had returned to school to study his AS levels and dreamt of becoming an accountant or a pilot. He also worked part-time at his local pub in his home village of Kilburn. On the night before he died he did his usual shift alongside Craig Doxey, a fellow waiter and his best friend. People were filming… we could hear people shouting "jump you…" followed by a stream of expletives
Alasdair Kay - Derby City Mission Craig found time during another shift to speak about his friend. "He was always smiling and laughing about stuff. I think if it wasn't for the crowd, Shaun would have got down and got some help from all his mates, work colleagues and the police." One of Shaun's school friends, Rebkha Minkley, added: "He was the best person anyone could have asked to meet. He always came in, in the morning with a smile on his face." Not only can Rebkha not come to terms with the death of her friend, but she does not understand how people could have got a thrill over watching him die. "To be up there in the state he was in, and then for people to tell him to jump, it made me feel sick... I can't cope with it." Suicide note Shaun went to school at Heanor Gate Science College, eight miles from Derby, situated in a largely white, working-class area. He was openly gay and considered to be a "breath of fresh air", despite a troubled home life. Rob Howard, the school's head teacher, said: "I feel very angry that there are people out there who are so desensitised to life that they just see it as a film or a soap opera. I don't think they realise what the consequences of their actions are going to be, but it is clearly disturbing." Apparently Shaun Dykes left a suicide note. It is likely that he was badly affected by the breakdown of an important relationship. But perhaps the reasons for his death are less important than what it revealed about the nature of a handful of ordinary men and women on a bright Saturday afternoon in England.
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It has recently been made public that on September 27, seventeen year old Shaun Dykes jumped off a multistory building following encouragement from the crowd. According to the BBC's Today programme, a variety of different people, including youths and middle aged citizens, were telling the teenager to jump.

Alasdair Kay, director of the Derby City Mission, saw the incident unfold. He expressed his shock and disgust at the incident. "People were filming… we could hear people shouting 'Jump, you,'" she said. "They weren't all just young people, some were middle-aged. To be honest with you I was sickened."

Derbyshire's Chief Constable Mick Creedon, also yesterday commented on the indent. "The tragic death of Shaun Dykes at Derby on 27th September has attracted much comment and media speculation," he started. "The pain that Shaun's family and friends are suffering must be unimaginable and they have my deepest sympathy."

"The primary responsibility of the police is the protection of life, and the Derbyshire Constabulary will always have this responsibility at the forefront of our response to such tragic events as Shaun's death last Saturday," he continued. "We have very well trained and experienced staff, well practiced in dealing with such incidents and I have no doubt that the officers involved in talking to Shaun on Saturday did their best with the situation they were presented with."

"The fact that they were unsuccessful in negotiating Shaun to safety will have been very painful for them, particularly for the two officers who spent two hours talking directly to him. They have my sincere thanks for their efforts as, I'm sure, they have the thanks of the vast majority of those reading this."

Shaun Dykes, had been raised in a single parent family in a village near Derbyshire and he recently returned from a business course to study to become an accountant or a pilot.

Before his death, he was working part time in a local pub. Craig Doxey, his best friend, described Dykes. "He was always smiling and laughing about stuff. I think if it wasn't for the crowd, Shaun would have got down and got some help from all his mates, work colleagues and the police."

He went to Heanor Gate Science College, and he was openly gay. According to one of his friends from that school, Rebkha Minkley, "he always came in, in the morning with a smile on his face."

According to the Today program, Dykes is believed to have left a suicide note before jumping off the building.