NCIS: USMC recruit injured in fall believed to have ‘intentionally jumped’
A recruit who was critically injured after a fall at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island appears to have jumped, according to preliminary information gathered by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
“There are no signs of foul play,” NCIS spokesperson Ed Buice said Tuesday afternoon, “and very sadly it looks like this young man intentionally jumped, and we are investigating.
“There were witnesses that saw him do it,” Buice said.
The recruit remains in critical condition, depot spokesperson Capt. Greg Carroll said Tuesday afternoon.
The two-story fall occurred Friday in the recruit processing center, according to the Marine Corps. The recruit, who reported to the depot Oct. 24, had been on the island just four days.
There is an ongoing Marine Corps command investigation into the incident, Carroll said, which is standard operating procedure.
The recruit’s family is with him at the “off-site medical facility,” Carroll said Monday, as are depot command representatives, who are there for support.
Buice said NCIS’ “preliminary” investigation is ongoing. There is no timeline for its completion.
The agency’s investigation of Raheel Siddiqui’s death continues, Buice said.
Siddiqui, 20, a Taylor, Mich., native, died March 18 from injuries sustained after falling nearly 40 feet at the depot.
The Corps has ruled his death a suicide. But Siddiqui’s family disputes that claim, according to their attorney Shiraz Khan, and worries their son may have been hazed and abused.
In late June the Corps announced the investigation of 15 Parris Island drill instructors accused of physical abuse and hazing, and in early September it said 20 depot personnel could face military justice or administrative action stemming from the initial findings of three command investigations.
Those investigations, including one initiated by a White House inquiry, centered on 3rd Recruit Training Battalion. Those investigations were linked in the aftermath of Siddiqui’s death.
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Wade Livingston: 843-706-8153, @WadeGLivingston
This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 1:48 PM with the headline "NCIS: USMC recruit injured in fall believed to have ‘intentionally jumped’."