The death of a 19-year-old Western Washington University student who fell eight stories from a dormitory building was ruled a suicide Tuesday, April 17.

Timothy Crossan, a U.S. citizen from Ch?ne-Bougeries, Switzerland, landed on concrete in a tennis court area Monday morning after jumping from the top of Nash Hall.

When medics arrived he was alive but suffering from massive injuries to his head and the rest of his body. He died at the scene. Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel ruled the death a suicide after a Tuesday morning autopsy.

A storage area and walkway underneath the seven-floor dorm, built on a slope at the north end of campus, added about another story to the height of Crossan's fall.

His name was released by the university Monday afternoon, after his parents were reached in Switzerland, said university spokesman Paul Cocke. They are coming to Bellingham.

The door to the roof was locked and secured, so University Police believe Crossan climbed to the roof from a seventh-story sundeck - a feat that would be extremely dangerous without a harness, Cocke said.

"It'd be like climbing up on the Space Needle or something," he said.

Crossan, a freshman, lived in Nash Hall, a dorm that is home to about 350 students.

Counseling is offered to all students through the university's counseling center at 360-650-3164 . After hours, students can call University Police's dispatch center at 360-650-3555 and ask for the counselor on call.

The university had not announced plans for a memorial as of Tuesday, but leadership at WWU sent out a campus-wide email saying administrators would keep people informed about plans to gather as a community.

"No one needs to face their feeling of loss and grief alone," WWU President Bruce Shepard and his five vice-presidents wrote in the email. "We stand proud to be part of a community that cares so deeply and remain united with you as we heal from this tragedy together."

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