A man committed suicide on Monday in an eight-story leap from a parking structure near where Occupy San Diego demonstrators were gathered, but it was unclear if he identified with the protesters, authorities said.

The unidentified 42-year-old man was carrying some flyers in his pockets, but it was not immediately known if those were political tracts or had some other content, San Diego police spokesman Detective Gary Hassen said.

Hassen said it appeared the man's suicide was unrelated to the Occupy San Diego protest.

Nevertheless, a post at a website for Occupy San Diego said there would be a moment of silence on Monday evening to honor the dead man. While the events leading to this tragedy remain under investigation, we are deeply saddened by the loss, the statement said.

The event, aimed at protesting against economic inequality, has drawn hundreds of demonstrators to downtown San Diego in support of the Occupy Wall Street protest and similar events across the United States.

California