The discovery of a man's body hanging from a tree in a midtown Atlanta park early Thursday, just hours after a video of a black man being shot by police in Minnesota became viral, triggered a torrent of tweets suggesting it was a racist lynching. But investigators quickly said the death was "consistent with a suicide."
The dead man, who has not been publicly identified, was found hanging by a rope near an entrance to Piedmont Park just before Atlanta's sunrise, Atlanta Police spokesman Donald Hannah said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"There were no discernible signs of a struggle or foul play," Hannah said. A "Fulton County medical examiner concurred that the death was consistent with a suicide."
Despite what police say, many on Twitter are not buying the suicide theory:
and I suppose, these two committed suicide too? history, is literally repeating itself. #piedmontparkhanging pic.twitter.com/wxnYpbFQ7Q
-- Taylor-Dior Rumble (@xo_TDR) July 7, 2016
History is reoccurring right in front of our eyes and they're declaring it a suicide?! This is beyond disgusting. #PiedmontParkHanging
-- perla (@reeduscript) July 7, 2016
#piedmontparkhanging has already been ruled a suicide with little investigation? this is no coincidence. pic.twitter.com/iXbXaEXt7I
-- krys (@hoIysus) July 7, 2016
So no one even thinks it's a coincidence that the kkk announced their comebacks and then this happens #PiedmontParkHanging
-- myonna (@lowkeycurls) July 7, 2016
