Teen dies after falling inside derelict high-rise, police say

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - A 17-year-old boy died early after falling from an open stairwell inside the derelict Plaza Tower in downtown New Orleans, police said.

New Orleans Police Department Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick said a group of teens -- the exact number unknown -- broke into the vacant high-rise shortly before midnight Friday, Aug. 14, for what she termed “a little urban exploring” that ended with tragic consequences.

The identity of the teen was not immediately disclosed.

At least some members of the group were drinking alcohol, though all were believed to be underage, police said. The 58-year-old tower was abandoned in 2002 due to severe contamination by toxic black mold and asbestos.

Kirkpatrick said a 911 call was received Saturday at 12:04 a.m. seeking medical help within the fenced-off skyscraper. New Orleans EMS personnel arrived to find one teen dead at the scene from the fall, and another who had to be hospitalized because of deep lacerations to an arm and wrist.

The teens had climbed to what Kirkpatrick described as “a higher floor” inside the 45-floor building, using an interior staircase that no longer has safety railings. The exact floor from which the victim fell, she said, was “a detail for another day.”

“This is a private property, not a city building,” Kirkpatrick 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.”

Former NOPD chief Michael Harrison, now New Orleans’ deputy mayor for public safety, called it a “truly tragic incident.” But he added, “No one -- adults or kids -- should be entering this abandoned building.”

The tower has fallen into greater and greater disrepair since Hurricane Katrina, with its top still wrapped in netting to prevent pieces from falling to the sidewalk below.

“It is the owners’ responsibility to make sure this abandoned building is secure,” Harrison said. “It is very unsafe, as we’ve seen overnight.”

Kirkpatrick said 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, “because the kids got in.”

Lincoln Area Properties 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.

Kirkpatrick said it was possible the building’s owners might face criminal charges.

“I would say ‘possibly,’” she said. “But we’ll look at that later.”

It’s not the first death at the tower. A man died from falling from an unknown floor in 2023, WVUE reported.