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A former Fox employee shot himself to death outside the News Corp building in midtown Manhattan on Monday morning, the NYPD and Fox Television Stations confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
The NYPD identified the man as Phillip Perea, 41, of Irvine, Texas. Perea was employed at Fox 7-KTBC in Austin, Texas, for 10 months, ending in June, according to an email sent to Fox Television Stations employees by CEO Jack Abernethy.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” Abernethy wrote in his email.
The News Corp building houses Fox Television Stations’ headquarters as well as Fox News, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, parts of the Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox and News Corp.
Perea had been handing out fliers that criticized his employer for having “ended my career” before he shot himself, a source confirmed to THR.
Perea also had criticized Fox on Twitter about an hour before the shooting, linking to a more than eight-minute YouTube video listing his complaints, the Journal reported.
A weapon was recovered at the scene as well as a suicide note, according to The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. No one else was injured.
Perea was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, the NYPD confirmed.
Jan. 26, 10:54 a.m. This story has been updated with additional details about the victim and comments from Fox Television Stations.
Jan. 26, 11:04 a.m. This story has been updated with confirmation of the name and age of the victim.
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