Teenager Shoots Self In School Auditorium After Asking Permission To Use Bathroom

A high school student in Florida shot and killed herself early Wednesday morning in her school’s auditorium after seeking permission to use the bathroom.

The unidentified 17-year-old girl was a student of Lake Mary High School near Orlando, Florida. At around 7:45 a.m. EDT, the girl asked her teacher if she could be excused to use the restroom. Within five minutes, the teacher heard a gunshot from the auditorium. The school nurse tried to revive the student but was unsuccessful.

After the news of the incident spread, the school was put on a code red lockdown, which has since been lifted and the other students were sent home. Parents of all the students were sent an automated voicemail notifying them of the incident.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma notified the school community about the incident via the PA system and informed them that the school was safe and that there was no active threat.

During a press conference, Lemma said there were no staff or students in the auditorium when the shooting took place and the police are still trying to figure out how the girl got access to the handgun and took it to the school. “It appears that she went out of her way to do it in an area where nobody else was at. Every person’s stomach is in knots right now thinking about this tragedy,” he said.

The girl’s father was reportedly informed by the local deputies and they attempted to get in touch with her mother, who lives outside Florida.

Grief counselors were made available to all the students at school and they encouraged anyone struggling with mental health issues to seek help. “Let’s do what we can to make sure we’re talking about this. Let’s not turn a blind eye to it, and prevent situations like this from ever happening again,” Lemma said during the press conference.

Officials from the school said classes for Thursday have been cancelled, but that grief counselors will be available in the school media center and on the school campus for a couple of hours on Friday as well.

This is the second incident of a school suicide in Florida since 2017 when a 17-year-old boy shot and killed himself at the Lake Minneola High School.

Mental health professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected data in 2017, which shows that the suicide rate for children and teens between 10 and 17 rose more than 70 percent between 2006 and 2016. The reasons include poor mental health screening, low access to mental health services and the resistance to accept the fact there is a problem and that help must be sought, according to several experts and teens. Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States.

“If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.”