Edward Mackowiak, a 25-year-old Apple employee, was been found dead in a conference room at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters on Wednesday, the Santa Clara County coroner has confirmed.
Early reports point to his death being the result of suicide by gunshot, in what Santa Clara authorities have described as an “isolated incident”.
Mackowiak was a software engineer at Apple and a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
A number of Mackowiak’s former peers and colleagues have expressed their sadness at his death.
Brian Beggs of EdX said:
“Extraordinarily talented, wicked bright and driven to no end. Everyday was an exciting new challenge to overcome, moments to learn and grow and lots of silly dumb shit. Ed was hard to keep up with and always had the best questions. The best part was when he asked you these questions he would listen intently and truly take your answer to heart. Ed was someone who wanted to grow and grow fast, nothing ever seemed fast enough weather it was our iteration cycles or the cars he loved so much.”
Asked about his death, an Apple spokesperson said:
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a young and talented coworker.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends, including the many people he worked with here at Apple. We are working to support them however we can in this difficult time.”
Mackowiak’s death comes 24 hours after Apple announced its first year-on-year revenue decline since 2003.
The incident has raised a number of questions about working conditions and mental health within the technology sector.
If you are feeling depressed and would like to talk, please contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US) on 1 (800) 273-8255 or The Samaritans (UK) on 116 123.
Don’t suffer in silence
Photograph by Mario Sánchez Prada