Man’s body found at Bella Terra mall in Huntington Beach in possible suicide

Amid reports that a person jumped off the parking structure at Huntington Beach’s Bella Terra shopping center Wednesday morning, police have confirmed the body of an unnamed man was discovered on the Edinger Avenue property.

Huntington Beach police spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla said a 911 call requesting medical assistance came in shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday. Police officers and firefighters were immediately dispatched to the mall, located at 7777 Edinger.

Upon their arrival, they discovered a body and pronounced the individual dead at the scene. The Orange County coroner’s office was called to the location but by Wednesday afternoon had not yet notified the man’s next of kin and were not releasing his identity.

Reports and photos on local social media channels indicated police activity near the center’s parking structure, near the Cinemark Century Huntington Beach movie theater.

Penelope Brown, a property manager for Bella Terra, reported Wednesday the incident did take place at the parking structure and said officials temporarily closed off a drive aisle to give police and coroner’s staff room to process the scene.

Cuchilla could not confirm whether the man may have jumped to his death but said the matter did not present a safety threat to the general public.

At least one prior incident of someone committing suicide by jumping from the Bella Terra parking structure was reported in the local news in 2016.

In that case, an employee from the nearby Costco discovered the body of a man near the loading docks of the Burlington Coat Factory store at around 3:50 a.m. on Jan. 12. The death was ruled a suicide.

Brown would not comment on whether other similar incidents may have taken place on the property in recent years.

“If you have a parking structure in your center, I think it’s known this is something that can happen,” she said. “But I’m not at liberty to disclose prior incidents.”