About 300 students, staff and community members gathered tonight for a
candlelight vigil to honor a 13-year-old Southgate boy who school
officials said committed suicide in a bathroom of Davidson Middle School
this morning.
The high school students who organized the
event through Twitter thanked everyone for coming. There were prayers,
and a poem, before balloons were released and candles raised.
“I
pray that in their hard times, that we all turn to you, God,” said
Brianna MacNeil, 17, a senior at Anderson who did not know the
13-year-old.
Several students said the boy was suffering from
depression but hid it by being clever, funny, and nice to everyone he
knew. His older sister was in attendance, thanking everyone through
tears for their support.
“You guys are so awesome,” she said,
holding a family portrait that included the 13-year-old, the family’s
youngest. “This is so amazing.”
Jonae Mattison, 13, was in
class when the school went into lockdown mode. She was with a group of
students taken to the auditorium, and when she heard what had happened,
she said, “I started crying immediately. He was smiling all the time.”
Boy left a suicide note behind
The boy shot himself once with a .40-caliber handgun at Davidson
Middle School in Southgate around 8 a.m. -- stunning the community and
leaving students, police and school officials looking for answers.
The student -- whose name was not released by school officials or
police at a news conference held today -- was found by another student,
according to an official with the school district.
He left behind a suicide note that was found after the teen was
rushed to the hospital, where he later died, Southgate Director of
Public Safety Thomas Coombs said.
It was written as an open letter explaining that by the time it was read, he would have killed himself, he said.
Coombs said the teen used the word “drama” to describe his life,
but the student didn’t offer specifics on the issues he was apparently
having trouble dealing with and said taking his life was a way out.
The gun, which was not locked, belonged to a family member and the teen knew where it was and took it, Coombs said.
The student told a teacher he had to use the restroom this
morning and was the only one in the bathroom at the time of the
shooting, police said.
Delaney, who lives in Wyandotte and said she talked to him on the
phone often, had plans to go to a movie with him and a few other
friends on Friday, she said. He never told her he was upset about
anything.
“It didn’t seem like anything was wrong,” Delaney said. “Just to know that he is gone is really heartbreaking and shocking.”
Teachers were alerted after the shooting and the school was
locked down. Students scurried to the corners of classrooms, ran down
the hallways and were ushered to the gym. They were, eventually,
released to parents and guardians.
As school leaders grapple with what happened, the shock and
sadness has hit social media, where fellow students asked for people to
pray for their classmate’s family.
“I wish you knew how much we all love and care about you,” one student said in a Twitter post.
“Just yesterday I hugged him,” another tweeted. “I remember what he wore & he looked so happy. Now he’s gone.”
Students described the harrowing scene at the school after the gunshot rang out and the school was locked down.
Kali Timmis, 13, said she went to the corner of her English classroom.
"Wrecked, they're wrecked," Timmis, in the eighth grade, said of
her classmates as she left the school with her mother. "There's crying."
Karina Moise, 14, went to the gym with members of her Spanish class.
"We just kept seeing people running down the hallway," she said.
She described the victim as a friendly boy she knew from her lunch period.
"Happy for the most part; always laughing," she said. "He was really nice. He would offer to give you stuff (from his lunch)."
Classes won’t resume at the school until Monday when counselors will be present.
Southgate Community Schools Superintendent William Grusecki said
the district doesn’t have any indication that the youth was being
bullied and said he never went to staff to report any issues or
problems.
“We don’t have a very good idea of what happened yet,” he said hours after the shooting.
Gruscki called the teen a very good student who was somewhat popular.
Police said they have talked with his friends and bullying has not been mentioned.
“We have no reason at this time to understand why,” Director of Public Safety Thomas Coombs said Thursday afternoon.
Relatives declined comment when contacted by the Free Press today.
Southgate Police Detective Sgt. David Fobar, the investigator in
charge of the scene at the school, said the boy showed no signs of being
suicidal.
“It was a normal day,” Fobar said. “Even the kids that drove him to school, no indication.”
Investigators have spoken to parents of the teen and plan to continue to investigate, Coombs said.
Educators immediately locked down the school at 15800 Trenton
Road, with students in place in their classrooms as other employees ran
toward the sound.
There are no metal detectors at the school, but school officials
will examine whether changes need to be put in place over the next few
days.
Students were not allowed to walk home and were released to parents and guardians from the school after a lockdown.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with this family,” Grusecki said.
Staff Writer Eric D. Lawrence contributed.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130321/NEWS02/130321038/Police-Student-may-have-committed-suicide-at-Southgate-Middle-School
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