Urban explorer aged 17 met horrific fate after breaking into abandoned skyscraper whose stairwells did not have safety railings

Published: 17:32, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 17:32, 17 August 2026 A teenager from Louisiana died after falling through a stairwell inside a 45-floor building in New Orleans this weekend. The 17-year-old boy entered the abandoned Plaza Tower in Downtown New Orleans with friends on the night to August 15. 'The group had been consuming alcohol and when attempting to descend the stairs, the victim fell,' mentioned a log from the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the teens broke into the fenced-off skyscraper, climbed to 'a higher floor' inside the building and used an interior staircase that does no longer have any safety railings. Kirkpatrick said the exact floor from which the victim fell would be 'a detail for another day' and that 'the facts are still fluid.' She also said: 'This was an intrusion into a fenced-in area. Trespassing would be an appropriate charge, but that’s something we’ll address later. Every single one of those kids is traumatized right now.' After receiving a 911 call from inside the building around 12.04am on Saturday EMS found the teenager dead alongside one of his friends who suffered deep lacerations to his arm and wrist.  Deputy Mayor Michael Harrison said: 'This is truly a tragic incident, and so no one, kids or adults, should be entering boarded-up, abandoned buildings, especially when they are secured.' A 17-year-old boy from Belle Chasse, Louisiana died this weekend after falling from an open stairwell inside the abandoned Plaza Tower in Downtown New Orleans Some members of the group were drinking alcohol though all were believed to be underage, the New Orleans Police Department said New Orleans Deputy Mayor Michael Harrison expressed his condolences to the victim's family and described the skyscraper as 'very unsafe.' NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick (right) said that trespassing would be an 'appropriate charge' to be addressed later as 'every single one of those kids is traumatized right now' The Plaza Tower had been abandoned since before Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Harrison acknowledged the building’s history of problems, saying it was the owners’ responsibility to secure it. 'It is very unsafe, as we’ve seen overnight,' Harrison said. Kirkpatrick added it was her understanding that the building’s owners provide on-site security. 'But I can’t tell you if it was there at the time,' she said. Fox 8 reported that Lincoln Area Capital signed a purchase agreement in July 2025 to buy the building from the estate of previous owner Joe Jaeger but has not closed financing for its plan to convert the building into an apartment tower for senior housing.  The Plaquemines Parish School District released a statement saying that it was 'heartbroken by the sudden and tragic loss of one of our students' and that counselors will be available to students and staff as 'our school community' grieves. It remains unclear whether there was any on-site security at the Plaza Tower by the time the group entered the building The district said no additional information would be released while the investigation is ongoing.  The Daily Mail has contacted Lincoln Area Capital for comment.