Community struggles with 9-year-old's apparent suicide

[babylonsister]

Apparent suicide of 9-year-old boy in The Colony raises questions
Posted Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 Print Share Share Buzz up! Reprints

By ALEX BRANCH
[e-mail]


What could cause a 9-year-old to take his own life?

Authorities, friends and the family of a boy from The Colony who was found hanged at school Thursday afternoon are struggling with that question after his apparent suicide.

A staffer at Stewart’s Creek Elementary School discovered fourth-grader Montana Lance in a bathroom, police said. No children witnessed the incident.

The Tarrant County medical examiner has not determined a manner of death, but police said they did not expect criminal charges.

"We feel like the victim acted alone; we just don’t know why," said Lt. Darren Brockway, a police spokesman for the city between Lewisville and Plano. "To fathom that a 9-year-old would even think that was an option . . . just boggles the mind."

Robby Wright, a friend of Montana’s family, said the boy’s parents, Jason and Debbie, are devastated by his death and grateful for the help they have received. "The outpouring of support from the community is very touching," he said.

Experts say that of all age groups, suicides are rarest in children younger than 10 in the United States. Typically, five to 10 suicides nationwide are reported in any given year, according to the American Association of Suicidology in Washington, D.C.

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reported 33 suicides among 5- to 9-year-olds from 1999 to 2006. Two were reported in Texas.

more...

http://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/1915684.html

[secondwind]

1. too tragic for words.........

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I'm dumbfounded

:cry:

[Brickbat]

2. SO sad. That poor child, and his poor family.

I hope they find some comfort.

[aquart]

3. What is "The Colony"?

[tammywammy]

8. The name of the city n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. A city in Texas

[blogslut]

20. It is the name of a city

in Denton County, Tx.

[timtom]

4. Saddest thing I've seen in years.

Poor little guy.

[Terra Alta]

6. this is so heartbreaking.

Nine years old. He had not even begun to live. What was going through his mind or in his life that would cause him to do this? May he rest in peace. :cry:

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. One of my former students committed suicide 2 weeks ago

He was 11.

[Pavulon]

11. I do not understand this?

at 11 how can a kid do this? Is this TV? Where does a kid form that thought. When I was 11 something like that was just not possible.

Sad state of affairs.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. He was emotionally disturbed

It was very sad. When I had him (2 years ago), he was suicidal and we tried to work with his family to help them find help for him. They did finally put him in a psych hospital but he kept whining that he didn't like it so they took him out, against medical advice. They were very much in denial that their little boy was crying out for help.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. Some of the reasons will add more grief to the situation.

This one boy, who genetically came from a stocky family, couldn't deal with the mocking and rejection because of his size. He was under eighteen, I believe. Tied a rope to a tree in his yard and hung himself. May have been in the 14-18 range. Big for his age. His father was so taken by grief that he took an axe and chopped the tree down. The police watched on as he was doing it and respectfully kept their distance. I'll always remember that story.

[AlienGirl]

32. I first thought of it when I was about four or five

I was upset at not getting to do something, so I ate dog food because I thought if I ate food for dogs and not for humans I would die. (Didn't work.)

At five I decided that if I ever got a cavity and would need to get it filled, I'd just kill myself instead because that was less scary a thought.

In elementary school, thought about drowning myself fairly often...second grade I wanted to lie face-down in the spring meltwater creek until I died.

It didn't have to "come from" anywhere. Maybe I just was not meant to be born alive--I was a breech, after all, and would not have lived in previous eras. Maybe I just get tired of breathing. I don't know. The urge has always been there as my ultimate escape, for the day when things get hopeless to the point of unbearable.

Tucker

[Terra Alta]

12. I'm so sorry.

I can't even begin to imagine what would be going on in a child's life to cause them to commit suicide at such a young age. :cry:

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. It was very sad

We shed a lot of tears the day we found out he had killed himself. We weren't really surprised but it was still very very sad.

[tammywammy]

9. Very sad for everyone involved. n/t

[Withywindle]

14. Depression can cause it.

Children are not immune by any stretch. I had my first severe episodes of it when I was around 7. I wasn't abused or neglected. I just had messed-up brain chemistry from the beginning. It can be hereditary. (I still have it, but my medication does help me a lot).

RIP, Montana. I wish no one of any age had to feel that pain. I wish there were treatments that worked for everyone and that it was better understood and less stigmatized. :cry:

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. I have had more than one suicidal student and I teach elementary school

It's very hard to convince parents to get help for their children. And even when we can, many don't have adequate insurance coverage. Then when they do get help, and need meds, it can take years to find an effective med.

[Withywindle]

22. That's got to be hard. I'm so sorry. Thank you for the work you do.

I honestly think a lot of adults have a very idealized, romanticized idea of what childhood is like, and I think this is harmful to a lot of children. I think the fear, rage, depression, alienation, and anxieties that kids have --which are very real to them--are trivialized by adults in denial, who want to believe their children live in some ideal state of happy innocence. I want to shake them and ask, "don't you remember ANYTHING from your own childhood?"

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. It is hard

The hardest part is convincing the parent that their child needs help.

Most people don't realize that mental illness doesn't always just happen to adults. Many of those adults suffered as undiagnosed and untreated children. And it's frustrating to imagine where those adults would be today had they been treated as kids.

[jwirr]

24. Just recognizing depression in children is hard let alone getting them

help in time. My niece was 8 when she was diagnosed.

[AlienGirl]

29. I was 4 when I was diagnosed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Mine started when I was about 12

But I was 40 before I was finally diagnosed.

[ElmoBlatz]

16. I hate to guess in a situation like this

But my first reaction when seeing this was bullying. Perhaps the young man felt overwhelmed and alone and didn't know where to turn. To me thats the explanation for it happening while at school. Regardless, a very sad situation.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. I was thinking the same thing

Since he chose to do this at school, I would guess he was bullied.

[Spacemom]

19. He was being bullied at school

I have a family member who lives on the same street at this little boy. She's watched him grow up. She called me last night and couldn't stop crying.

I just can't imagine. My son is 9. It breaks my heart to think of a child that age thinking there's nothing left. :cry:

[glinda]

21. I think it is lack of "hope" for the future. Especially the environment.

[demmiblue]

25. He was 9 years old.

It was most likely situational and/or biological.

Nice try, though.

[glinda]

28. you may be selling children's ability to perceive short

[Clintonista2]

26. 33 Suicides of 5 - 9 year olds?

:wtf:

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. And I think that is too low

I would bet there are lots more than that.

[proteus_lives]

30. Some people are born with the urge to destroy themselves.

They kill themselves, idiotic stunts, the wild ones, the no fear ones.