Florida Teenager Kills Himself In School, Police Say Suicide Was 'Planned Event'

A 17-year-old high school student from Lake Minneola High School, Florida, shot and killed himself Tuesday morning in what authorities are calling a "planned event."

Seth Sutherland had been separated from other students when he fatally shot himself near the school’s bus loop during a pre-scheduled fire drill on the school campus.

According to the New York Post, a classmate found Sutherland's body in the school courtyard; he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead due to a gunshot wound on the head.

According to the New York Post, authorities said that Sutherland posted messages on social media before his death and also sent private messages to his loved ones.

It was also reported that Sutherland shared a message on Snapchat where he blamed particular individuals for his decision to kill himself. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Snapchat message sent by the teenager read: “Rest in peace [expletive] all of you who contributed to this.”

Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. John Herrell said to the New York Post, “We have reason to believe this was a planned event and this is really all I can say.” He added, “The crime scene is out in the open, but it was not a very populated and crowded area at that time. It seems like the majority of the student body was on the other side of the building.”

The Sheriff’s Office had posted the news of the shooting on its Facebook page around 8.30 a.m. The school, which has nearly 1,800 students enrolled, was immediately placed on lockdown following the shooting and worried parents rushed to school to pick up their children.

A parent, Zulaika Kahn, told the Orlando Sentinel as she waited for her son to be come out of the school, “I just want to break into that school and get him and bring him back.”

Trevor Schremmer, a 16-year-old junior, said that he had spoken to Sutherland a day before in the school’s courtyard, the Sentinel reported.

Trevor said, “He was a really nice kid. He was always nice to everybody. He was friends with everybody.” He added, “He seemed fine. I hope his family is ok. I’m sure they’re going through a lot.”

Drenen Wesolowski, 18, a senior, said, “He was quiet. He had a tight group of friends but he wasn’t a part of any extracurricular activities.”

Another classmate, junior Isaiah Vargas, said that the students who were going downstairs after the fire drill had started, looked through a window and saw Seth’s body.

“It really impacts the heart. “The teachers and staff were surrounding the body,” said Vargas, a 16-year-old.

“We’ll be taking a look at this as a school family, the things we can do differently, and I’m sure the individual families will be doing the same,” said the district communications officer Sherri Owens.

Earlier in 2014, 14-year-old Lamar Jazz Hawkins III, shot himself in a restroom at Greenwood Lakes Middle School in Lake Mary, Central Florida, because of being bullied.