Young man stages horrifying online suicide attempt by trying to burn himself to death as 200 4Chan viewers egged him on

A 20-year-old man studying at Ontario's University of Guelph tried to kill himself live on 4chan



4chan is an imageboard website allowing users to post anonymously

'Stephen' lit a fire as 200 people watched on a live video stream

Footage shows him being pulled out by firefighters

The student is in a serious but non-life threatening condition with his devastated mother at his bedside



The University is now trying to stop fellow students watching the live footage

A disturbed young man has shocked North America after he tried to kill himself by setting his room on fire while 200 people watched on an online messageboard.



The 20-year-old, who identified himself only as 'Stephen', announced on the anonymous 4chan website that he intended to commit suicide and broadcast the event for others to see.

Disturbingly, scores of online users signed up to watch the suicide attempt and helped the man to set up the video stream for the 'an hero' - online slang for suicide attempt.



Tragic: 'Stephen', 20, allegedly tried to kill himself on 4chan about 7pm Saturday night

Horrific: 'Stephen' posted this note on 4chan explaining why he was trying to commit suicide

After 200 users had signed up to his video stream, 'Stephen' swallowed a handful of pills and drank vodka lighting a fire in the corner of his room about 7pm on Saturday.



He retreated under his bed as smoke appeared to billow around him.

4chan is an imageboard website allowing users to post anonymously.

'As an oldf*g who’s been on 4chan since 2004, I thought I would finally give back to the community in the best possible way,' he wrote on the notorious imageboard.



'I am willing to an hero [commit suicide] on cam for you all.

'All that I request is for you guys to link me to a site where I am able to stream it for you guys.'





'Stephen', using the name 'LOLdoge', set up a camera to film his suicide attempt Strange community: 200 viewers watched as Stephen's room filled with smoke and firefighters pulled him from the room The Daily Dot r eported another user set up a video chatroom on streaming website Chateen which 'Stephen' joined. 'Stephen' used the username LOLDoge, a reference to a meme featuring a photo of a Shiba Inu dog that is popular on 4chan.

With 200 viewers - the maximum allowed on Chateen - watching him and even more trying to get in, Stephen downed booze and pills before setting his room alight.

As the camera rolled, he crawled under the bed where he typed: '#imdead #omgimonfire' and

'I’m f*ck3d'.

The troubling video, still available online, shows firefighters pulling him out of the smokey room. A number of viewers disturbingly encouraged 'Stephen' during his suicide attempt, while others clamored to view the horrific scene.

One wrote: 'Let's all of us use his photo as wallpaper for one week. He's doing it.' Another who was frustrated at not being to watch the suicide attempt because the chat room was full wrote: 'Leave someone so we can join.' Another anonymous user wrote: 'PROVIDE PICS ROOM IS FULL DAMN IT.'



As 200 viewers watched, 'Stephen' ingested pills and vodka, lit a fire with his toaster and hid under his bed

The disturbing video captured the moment firefighters pulled 'Stephen' out of the smokey room. It is not known whether he is still alive

A spokeswoman for the University of Guelph confirmed that the incident took place on campus.



She told Mailonline that the troubled man's mother was at his hospital bedside and was 'not in a good place psychologically'.



The darkest corner of the web: How 4CHAN's pornography peddlers find their fun bullying grieving families

4chan has been described as 'one of the darkest corners of the web' and 'the rude, raunchy underbelly of the internet'

The website, a series of chatrooms and picture sharing boards, was designed by New Yorker Christopher Poole when he was just a teenager It started out as a place to discuss manga but quickly turned into a more controversial chat-room where users under the cloak of anonymity seem to believe nothing is beyond mockery

Members have no issue making light of tragedy: Openly taunting suicide victims, their families and laughing at the reaction to fake death rumors they put about the internet

Users have also taken responsibility for hacking other sites - including famously Sarah Palin's private email

The /b/ board is said to be the most popular page on the site and coincidentally home to its most sickening material

It often includes pornography and vicious bullying

The term 'an hero' - used to discuss suicide on the site - is a good example of how vile users can become

Spotting a grammatical error on the memorial page for seventh grader Mitchell Henderson, who shot himself in the head with his parents' rifle in 2008, 4chan users thought the typo more worthy of interest than the tragic death

They began to bombard the boards with images and messages mocking Mitchell's death and the people mourning him which even led to prank phone calls being made to his parents

Several other bullying victims and mourning families have complained of similar treatment by the site Hannah Smith who killed herself after months of cyber-bullying was one such victim as was Natasha MacBryde

The site can at times claim responsibility for some good deeds. On one occasion the community tracked down a man who posted videos of alleged cat abuse which led to his arrest

She added: ‘A fire was reported at 7.40 on Saturday evening and fire and police responded. The fire was put out and they found the injured student.

‘The damage was confined to the student’s residence but students were evacuated as a precaution.



'We were suspicious the fire had been started by the student but the police began investigating.



'When videos started circulating yesterday (Sunday) meetings were called with university staff and students and counsellors brought in to be available to any students as obviously it’s a disturbing situation.



‘We are also advising students not to watch or share the video. We’re trying to take it down but it’s on so many guerrilla sites it’s almost impossible to do that.’

Brenda White side, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs told MailOnline: ‘We haven’t been able to speak to the student yet. He’s in hospital and he’s going to be okay.

'He can’t talk to anyone at the moment. His mum is with him and we may be able to talk to him in the next day or two. He’s going to be in a fragile state. We’re respecting his privacy and need to recover with the interest it’s a difficult balance.'



According to the Guelph Mercury, the victim was rushed to hospital with 'serious but non life-threatening injuries' caused by smoke inhalation.

Two staff members were also taken to hospital but were later released.



120 students were evacuated and 42 remain out of their rooms as the investigation continues.



They are now being put up in temporary accommodation.



An anonymous user posted their own account of the incident, claiming 'Stephen' had taken prescription drugs in his dorm room, cheated on his girlfriend, was disowned by his parents and 'in debt for useless degree'.



'Stephen' has quickly become the subject of cruel taunts and jokes on the messageboard, being dubbed 'Toaster Steve'.



For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org.