A survivor of last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School committed suicide Saturday, about a week after another survivor is believed to have done the same.
Although a name has not been released, police are calling the death an “apparent suicide.” It was reported Friday that Sydney Aiello, 19, also committed suicide the prior weekend.
Both Aiello and the new victim were survivors of the 2018 shooting at the high school, which took the lives of 14 of their classmates and three staff members. Aiello suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt after the shooting.
Ryan Petty, the father of a freshman who died in the mass shooting, started a suicide prevention foundation called the “Walk Up Foundation.” He said Saturday’s death is more proof that the issue of suicide needs to be addressed.
“The issue of suicide needs to be talked about,” Petty told the Miami Herald. “ … This is another tragic example,”
The 2018 shooting spawned a wave of student activism, largely in favor of increasing gun control measures. There was a national demonstration dubbed “March for Our Lives” that was centered in Washington with sister marches across the country.
One of the activists, David Hogg, posted on Twitter about Saturday’s suicide, writing: “How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything? Rip 17+2”
How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything?
Rip 17+2 ??
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2019
