Three Suicides in One Month of School Shooting Aftermath Victims
April 4, 2019
Two Parkland shooting survivors and a father of a child who died in the Sandy Hook mass shooting took their own life this month.
A former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School opened fire on February 14, 2018, killing 17 students and teachers and injuring 17 others, some with life-threatening injuries.
Sydney Aiello, a 19-year-old mass shooting survivor couldn’t handle the grief of losing her classmates and the “long-lasting effects of enduring such a traumatic event, weighed heavily on her.” On March 17, 2019, she took own life. Sydney’s mother, Cara Aiello, told CBSNews that Sydney struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting back in February, especially when her best friend, Meadow Pollack died at the hands of the gunman. She struggled in college and experienced anxiety in a classroom.
Within a few days, a sophomore named Calvin Desir also took his life on the following Saturday night. His sister told the NYPost that he was a kid, “with strong aspirations of one day becoming an engineer, which inspired him to always find new projects around the house to challenge his skills.” Calvin was a soft-spoken, selflessness and kind-hearted kid who, “will forever live in our hearts.”
49-year-old, Jeremy Richman also took his life this month. Richman was a graduate of Sabino High School and University of Arizona. His daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre back in 2012. He was found in his office building on Monday morning in Connecticut. Avielle Richman was 6-years-old when she was killed along with 20 children and 6 adults in that shooting. Jeremy was dedicated to helping prevent mass shootings after his daughter’s murder.
Florida lawmakers are now also raising money for mental health services for Majory Stoneman Douglas High School community and others schools in the state.