Teen falls to his death after climbing 6th Street Bridge during social media stunt, LAPD chief says

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 17-year-old boy fell to his death over the weekend while climbing the 6th Street Bridge during an apparent social media stunt, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said.

Police were sent to the bridge around 2 a.m. Saturday and found the boy, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. His name wasn't immediately released.

The teen slipped and fell "when climbing upon one of the arches, in order to post, apparently, a social media broadcast," Moore said Tuesday during a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting.

Moore said added patrols will continue at the location to "counter such reckless actions."

"Tragically we see that location, while it has spawned a great deal of pride in Los Angeles, it has also unfortunately served as a backdrop now for tragedies such as this," Moore said at the meeting.

The bridge opened last July. The $588-million span, which replaced an 84-year-old Art Deco span, runs 3,500 feet over the concrete-lined L.A. River and connects downtown to the historic Eastside.

Police closed the bridge several times after it became a hotspot for street racing, graffiti and illegal takeovers soon after opening.

In one instance, video captured a barber cutting a person's hair in the middle of the bridge as cars passed by.

A man was also shot and killed on a pedestrian ramp of the bridge in January during an unauthorized filming of a music video.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.