diff --git a/src/Reporter.cc b/src/Reporter.cc
index cd1aa09d4c..d138e23b88 100644
--- a/src/Reporter.cc
+++ b/src/Reporter.cc
@@ -88,7 +88,11 @@ void Reporter::FatalError(const char* fmt, ...)
 	va_end(ap);
 
 	set_processing_status("TERMINATED", "fatal_error");
+#ifdef DEBUG
+	abort();
+#else
 	exit(1);
+#endif // DEBUG
 	}
 
 void Reporter::FatalErrorWithCore(const char* fmt, ...)
@@ -393,4 +397,3 @@ void Reporter::DoLog(const char* prefix, EventHandlerPtr event, FILE* out,
 	if ( alloced )
 		free(alloced);
 	}
-