From NY Post: Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, has died by suicide. He was 26, according to his family.
Metayer was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., when gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire, killing 17 students and staff members.
He took his life following a seven-year battle with schizophrenia that began almost immediately after the mass shooting, his sister, Nancy Metayer Bowen, announced in a Facebook post on Saturday.
“On Monday, December 15th, my baby brother, Donovan, committed suicide after a seven-year battle with schizophrenia,” Metayer Bowen wrote.
“Thank you for the immense love and support our family has received from community in the days since Donovan’s passing. I see your messages, hear your voicemails, and deeply grateful for every expression of remorse,” she continued. “As I continue to navigate my grief, I am not in a space to carry conversations at this time, but please know your kindness has not gone unnoticed.
“To honor Donovan’s life and legacy, our family is establishing a mental health fund in his name. This fund will expand access to mental health services and support for individuals and families who need it most. Your generosity, compassion, and continued support mean more than words can express during this time.
In lieu of calls, messages, or flowers, I invite you, if you are able, to consider a donation of any amount to support this effort.
“Thank you for holding our family in your thoughts and for honoring Donovan’s memory with such grace, compassion, and love.”
The family set up a GoFundMe.
“The loss of our family’s youngest child is a sorrow beyond words — one that will echo through our lives, forever. Yet even in our grief, we are choosing to speak Donovan’s truth, so that other families do not have to suffer in silence the way we have,” Metayer’s family wrote on the fundraising page.
Read more at NY Post
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