Ronald Wagenhoffer, Suicidal Building Inspector, Said Collapse 'Wasn't My Fault' In Video Message

A Philadelphia official says a building inspector left a videotaped message before his apparent suicide saying a deadly building collapse wasn't his fault.

PHILADELPHIA — A building inspector who had visited a demolition site before a brick wall collapsed onto an adjacent thrift store, killing six people, left a cellphone video message before his apparent suicide this week saying the collapse "wasn't my fault," the mayor's spokesman said.
However, inspector Ronald Wagenhoffer also said he wished he'd been more diligent, spokesman Mark McDonald told The Associated Press on Friday.
Wagenhoffer inspected the downtown site before and after demolition work began in February and visited an attached, related job site on May 14 following a complaint.
A four-story brick wall collapsed at the site June 5, burying 19 people inside a one-story Salvation Army thrift shop next door. Besides the six people who died, 13 were injured.
Wagenhoffer, a veteran inspector, was found dead in his truck Wednesday night, hours after finishing his last shift. Police said they believe he shot himself in the chest.
According to McDonald, Wagenhoffer first secured his cellphone on the dashboard and made two brief videos, each 20 to 30 seconds long. The first was for his wife and young son, McDonald said, and the second described his thoughts on the collapse.
"He says that he can't sleep," said McDonald, who said he viewed both videos Friday afternoon. "He says that he was devastated by the deaths and injuries at the scene."
McDonald said Wagenhoffer then says briefly on the videos he "wished that he'd been more diligent."
"He wished that he'd gotten out of a truck at some point in time," he said, "but it's not connected to any particular event. There's no mention of May 14. And he never says that he never inspected the site."