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Boy, 17, Hangs Himself in Cook County Jail: Officials

By Darryl Holliday | December 30, 2013 4:44pm
 Officials say Tyshawn Carter was checked on within seven minutes of his apparent suicide Monday morning.
Officials say Tyshawn Carter was checked on within seven minutes of his apparent suicide Monday morning.
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DNAinfo/Darryl Holliday

CHICAGO — A 17-year-old held under charges of armed robbery fatally hung himself Monday morning inside Cook County Jail, according to the sheriff's department.

Cook County Jail officials found Tyshawn Carter at about 12:43 a.m. Monday morning, within minutes of his apparent suicide, according to Cara Smith, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department.

Carter had hung himself from his bunk bed with his bed sheet when officers found him and "engaged in life saving measures" before he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead, Smith said.

"He was checked on less than seven minutes prior to when he was found deceased," Smith said, noting that officials are required by law to check on incarcerated individuals every 30 minutes.

Carter had been in custody since late November after he was arrested for armed robbery in Chicago. He was not on suicide watch and was alone in the cell at the time of his death, Smith said.

Carter's next court date was scheduled for Jan. 3. His suicide was the sixth at the jail this year, Smith said.