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Tag: Suicide

  • Clinical Depression Survivor Aims to Save Lives With Release of Transformative Poetry Collection

    Clinical Depression Survivor Aims to Save Lives With Release of Transformative Poetry Collection

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    •

    Mar 7, 2024

    In a world more connected yet more disconnected than ever, poet Anthony Andricks creates an immersive experience providing testament that we can overcome, find contentment, and reclaim hope and purpose.


    LAKEWOOD, Ohio, March 7, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Shrew God Publishing announces the release of Repurposed (Trial by Lineation) by Ohio poet and attorney Anthony Andricks. Repurposed isn’t only a poetry book; it’s an extraordinary feat, fusing art and emotion that captures the human experience in a tapestry of voices from the past, present, and future. The 44-year-old author draws inspiration from the experiences of iconic LGBTQ+ trailblazers and seamlessly intertwines them with his own past struggles, using a unique approach that merges the reflective tendencies of GenX with the psychotherapeutic shadow work method embraced by Millennials and GenZ. This boundary-breaking style creates an intergenerational lifeline— a cohesive and linear poetic narrative about overcoming and redemption. In a series of online interviews, Andricks provides potential readers with a sneak peek into his work and methods. 

    “With a suicide epidemic sweeping the country,” says Andricks, “I feel a responsibility to let others know I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to give up hope. I also know what it takes to fight through it, to find purpose again. That’s what this book is about—sharing an experience through a poetic lens to inspire others, or even just one person, to flush those pills and fight.”  

    Emmy-nominated producer, director, and editor Nick Ramos adds, “Repurposed is incredibly relatable, and some poems hit painfully hard. Creative genius and raw courage remarkably displayed. I loved the artwork.” 

    The color version of Repurposed features the artwork of Cory Andricks, the author’s brother, providing stunning and unique visuals that complement the written word.  

    Anthony Andricks grew up in Bryan, Ohio, and presently resides in Lakewood, Ohio. Anthony graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland State University College of Law in 2012 and practices commercial real estate law at an AmLaw 200 firm where he also serves as the firmwide LGBTQ+ diversity leader.

    For more information, please visit www.RepurposedPoetry.com.

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    Source: Shrew God Publishing

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  • Julia Roberts’ Sister Blamed Star In Suicide Note – And So Does Her Fiancé 10 Years Later – Perez Hilton

    Julia Roberts’ Sister Blamed Star In Suicide Note – And So Does Her Fiancé 10 Years Later – Perez Hilton

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    [Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

    We have a rare update today on a story from way back in 2014. In fact, it’s from exactly ten years ago.

    For those who don’t know, Julia Roberts‘ sister Nancy Motes tragically died by suicide on February 9, 2014. At the time, word was she had written a lengthy note — and in it had basically blamed her movie star sister. A source told the NY Daily News that an EMT found a 5-page note in which there “were three pages of rantings that her sister drove her to do this.”

    Important to note: Mental health experts advise mental illness is complex, and no one event or person should be seen as the cause for another’s suicide.

    It was an awful thing to hear, but it did match what Nancy was saying online. She had infamously tweeted just four months earlier:

    “So my ‘sister’ said that with all her friends & fans she doesn’t need anymore love. Just so you all know ‘America’s Sweetheart’ is a BITCH!!”

    We can’t imagine having such a falling out with a sibling. After Nancy’s passing, her fiancé John Dilbeck seemed to be looking for peace, even if it was too late for his love. He put out a statement saying his late beloved really did love her family still:

    “John Dilbeck and his extended family would like to express their heartfelt condolences to all of Nancy Motes’ family and friends. We loved her dearly and will miss her always. Please know that the words she wrote in online venues were those of someone in pain who loved her family and longed for a closer bond with them.”

    But now he’s changed his tune. The years have apparently only made him feel more inclined to hold resentment toward Julia for what happened with Nancy.

    Related: Kurt Cobain’s Alleged Autopsy Leaks After 30 Years — With New Drug Details

    In his part of the note — which was apparently a total of 13 pages, with some of it going directly to Julia and some directly to their mother Betty — Nancy did mention her disdain for her sister. She wrote in a section willing her earthly possessions to John:

    “My mother and so-called ‘siblings’ get nothing except the memory that they are the ones that drove me into the deepest depression I’ve ever been in.”

    Nancy’s death haunts John. Even 10 years later, time has not come close to healing this wound. He tells DailyMail.com on Friday:

    “It feels like I’ve been trapped in a coma. Life kind of stopped, the whole world fell apart after her death. I never recovered. You know, I’ve never had another serious relationship. Even after ten years, I’m devastated. Nancy was the world to me. It’s a hole in my soul. I just feel so empty and incomplete without her. They say you’re really fortunate if you ever find one soulmate in a life and maybe that was it. I still try to be hopeful, but here we are a decade later. It doesn’t feel that long, it feels like a blur. Once Nancy died, the pieces never got back together. I never found another solution. My life was very much ruined because I thought that was my future.”

    So sad…

    Julia has never spoken about her sister’s death publicly. And less than a month afterward she was sharing her megawatt smile at the Oscars, taking part in Ellen DeGeneres‘ internet-breaking selfie.

    Living 10 years with the contents of that note — and nothing from Julia to change his mind — he’s come to believe Nancy’s version of events. He says:

    “The note makes it very clear how horrible and wretched Julia had tormented Nancy her whole life. It showed the despair Nancy felt. It’s so heartbreaking. Anyone could see why someone In Nancy’s position had been pushed so far that the only way to escape her torment was to take her own life. That’s clearly what Nancy believed.”

    Now he believes Julia was to blame — and if she really is such a horrible human being, he assumed one day the other shoe would drop:

    “So many people have been outed, the toxic stars, I’ve been waiting for Julia to fall, I felt like it was a matter of time. But now that story gets overshadowed by other scandalous events, which seem to happen on a weekly basis, we just move onto the next scandal.”

    Maybe this interview is to step into that shoe and take the next step himself? He certainly expresses a deep pain:

    “I still feel resentful, anger. The wound doesn’t go away, it doesn’t heal. I can’t even forgive Julia for all that she’s done, because she lives in a fantasy bubble, where she would just deny everything.”

    Why would he think that?

    Damn, Kevin Spacey AND Jared Leto? That photo really didn’t age well…

    Anyway, John continues:

    “Nancy was made to look like some sort of drug addict that died of an overdose, which it turns out was never the case. The prescription medication was used by Nancy as a means to an end. Julia drove her into the deepest depression. But it’s a side of the story that’s kind of brushed off just like people don’t want to believe that Santa Claus isn’t real. At the time, Julia was the self-proclaimed American sweetheart – she is anything but.”

    John claims he was banned from the funeral, that the family kept the location from him and threatened anyone else who told him. He says he learned later Julia gave a eulogy he thought was “harsh,” in which she said wanted to wring her sister’s neck “because she didn’t wait to see the joy that comes with the morning.” He doesn’t think it was right:

    “I asked some friends afterwards what it was like, ‘Do you think that’s what Nancy would have wanted?’ And they all unanimously said, ‘Absolutely no, she would be appalled by it’. Everyone there said they felt very awkward especially when Julia got up to speak. It just adds insult to injury.”

    He still thinks the other shoe is coming, explaining:

    “But I believe she’s really got bad Karma coming. I’ve got to believe that somehow Karma has to get this woman. She is absolutely wretched.”

    Wow. He really isn’t trying to keep any sort of peace anymore. Such a devastating story.

    If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.

    [Image via HBO/YouTube/Brian To/WENN.]



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    Perez Hilton

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  • ‘Final Fantasy’ Preview, ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,’ and ‘Halo’ Season 2

    ‘Final Fantasy’ Preview, ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,’ and ‘Halo’ Season 2

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    Ben, Jessica Clemons, and Matt James discuss rumors about Xbox games appearing on PlayStation, Disney infiltrating Fortnite, and the Knuckles trailer. Then they share bite-sized reviews of Tekken 8 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Matt’s takeaway from a hands-on preview of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. Then Charles Holmes joins Ben and Jess to discuss Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the future of live service and superhero games (28:16), before Ben and Jess give their impressions of Halo Season 2 (51:36).

    Host: Ben Lindbergh
    Guests: Jessica Clemons, Matt James, and Charles Holmes
    Producer: Isaiah Blakely
    Additional Production Supervision: Arjuna Ramgopal

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts

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    Ben Lindbergh

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  • Mother working to help teens with mental health, bullying issues on Long Island

    Mother working to help teens with mental health, bullying issues on Long Island

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    BRENTWOOD, Long Island (WABC) — A mother on Long Island is on a mission to make sure no parent goes through the pain she felt and still feels. Her daughter tried to take her own life after she was constantly bullied at school.

    Shortly after that attempt, her daughter died.

    Her mother is working to help teens cope with bullying and mental health issues.

    Bernice Simmons, 16, recorded a video shortly before trying to take her own life.

    “She woke me up and she’s like ‘I’m so sorry, and I was like ‘What’s wrong?” and she cut her face. She cut her arm, she had cut her stomach,” said her mother, Sheree Sibilly Simmons.

    Her mother then rushed her to South Side Hospital where she told the staff she was being bullied at school in Brentwood both in person and online.

    “Ninth grade was rough. She came home – she was complaining that she was being bullied and I really didn’t think it was that serious, but it was for her,” she added.

    Shortly after Simmons’ suicide attempt, she died of an unrelated pulmonary embolism.

    Several years after her death, a youth suicide prevention center opened in Riverhead, making it the first on Long Island.

    Calming music is one form of therapy at Rise Life Services, offering coping and self-esteem-building workshops to at-risk youth from as young as five years old to 24 years old.

    The program is sometimes just as powerful for the instructors.

    “My grandmother attempted suicide. She actually shot herself but it was unsuccessful. Just coming here, it has kind of been therapeutic for me as well,” said staff member Winter Landmann-Herd.

    “This is where we make the magic work for the individuals that we support,” said Chief Operations Officer Jeanette Permenter.

    Permenter gave Eyewitness News a tour of the prevention center.

    “Of course, fitness is one of the biggest things you can do to release stress,” she added.

    More than 50 youths are enrolled with programs running anywhere from three months to over a year.

    The services are free through state funding to support minorities and low-income families struggling with mental health.

    Sibilly Simmons shared her story just days after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents on Capitol Hill who lost their children to suicide.

    “It’s not fair for me to say it’s your fault – it’s not. It was my fault because I missed the sign,” she said.

    One year after the center opened, Governor Kathy Hochul extended the funding from one million the first year to now a total of five million for the first five years.

    If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text TALK to 741-741 or visit 988lifeline.org/ for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

    ALSO READ | School employees at New Jersey high school save sophomore when his heart stops beating

    CeFaan Kim has the story.

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    Chanteé Lans

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  • Granada Hills man, 79, and the family members police say he killed are identified

    Granada Hills man, 79, and the family members police say he killed are identified

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    Four Granada Hills residents who died over the weekend in a suspected triple homicide and suicide have been identified by the L.A. County medical examiner.

    Authorities still have not released a motive in what one officer called a “horrific” incident.

    Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles police responded to a call from a home on Lerdo Avenue, in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains, where they found the body of an older man, his wife and two of their adult children.

    Police said the family patriarch — identified in medical examiner records as 79-year-old Rodrigo De Leon — killed himself after killing Arabella De Leon, 80; Merceditas De Leon, 49; and Rodrigo De Leon, 53.

    The medical examiner listed the septuagenarian’s death as a suicide caused by a gunshot wound to the chest, and the other three deaths as homicides caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

    When officers first arrived at the sprawling home on Saturday, they forced their way in and were met by a woman who had survived the gunfire by barricading herself in a room and calling for help. The woman — later identified by CBS News as the couple’s adult daughter with special needs — directed the officers to another part of the house, where they found several bodies, authorities said.

    During a briefing for reporters Saturday night, LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz said that “the only positive point is that you at least have one witness who has survived this incident.”

    “I don’t know how much more terrifying and horrific of a scene it could be,” Muniz added.

    Neighbors described the family as “quiet” and said they had not caused problems, keeping to themselves. Some said they were surprised to hear of such violence in the affluent community.

    “This is a nice neighborhood,” said Richard Asperger, 62. “To think that a triple homicide or a shootout can happen, that’s not what we moved here for.”

    It’s not clear when a funeral or vigil might take place, and on Tuesday evening the remaining family did not offer comment to The Times.

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    Keri Blakinger

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  • US School Violence Fast Facts | CNN

    US School Violence Fast Facts | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Here is a list of incidents of elementary, middle and high school violence with at least one fatality, from 1927 to the present. Suicides, gang-related incidents and deaths resulting from domestic conflicts are not included. If a perpetrator was killed or died by suicide during the incident, their death is not included in the fatality totals.

    Because there is no central database tracking school violence incidents, this list is based primarily on media reports and is not complete or representative of all incidents.

    READ MORE: Ten years of school shootings

    January 4, 2024 – Perry High School – Perry, Iowa. Dylan Butler, 17, fatally shoots a sixth grade student and wounds five other people. The wounded include four students and the school’s principal. Butler dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    March 27, 2023 – Covenant School – Nashville, Tennessee. Three children and three adults are killed in a shooting. The shooter is fatally shot by responding officers.

    November 8, 2022 – Ingraham High School – Seattle, Washington. A 17-year-old student is fatally shot, and two teens are arrested in connection with the shooting.

    October 24, 2022 – Central Visual and Performing Arts High School – St. Louis, Missouri. A teen and an adult are killed in a shooting. The gunman dies after an exchange of gunfire with police.

    May 24, 2022 – Robb Elementary School – Uvalde, Texas. Salvador Ramos, 18, fatally shoots 19 students and two teachers. Responding officers fatally shoot Ramos.

    March 31, 2022 – Tanglewood Middle School – Greenville, South Carolina. 12-year-old student Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson is fatally shot. The suspected shooter, also 12, is arrested and charged with murder and other firearm charges.

    January 29, 2022 – Beloit Memorial High School – Beloit, Wisconsin. Jion Broomfield, 19, is fatally shot after a basketball game. Amaree Goodall, 19, is arrested in connection with the shooting.

    January 19, 2022 – Oliver Citywide Academy – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 15-year-old freshman Marquis Campbell is shot on school grounds. Campbell is taken to the hospital in critical condition and dies from gun injuries. In January 2024, Eugene Watson, 19, is sentenced to 20-40 years in prison.

    November 30, 2021 – Oxford High School – Oxford, Michigan. Ethan Crumbley, 15, opens fire, killing four students and injuring seven others. Crumbley later pleads guilty to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges. In 2023, Crumbley is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    September 1, 2021 – Mount Tabor High School – Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A student is fatally shot, and a suspect is taken into custody.

    March 1, 2021 – Watson Chapel Junior High – Pine Bluff, Arkansas. A student is fatally shot, and a 15-year-old male suspect is arrested. In 2023, Thomas Quarles pleads guilty to murder and is sentenced to 40 years in prison.

    January 14, 2020 – Bellaire High School – Bellaire, Texas. A 16-year-old male fatally shoots classmate Cesar Cortes. The teen is arrested and charged with manslaughter. The county district attorney said it appeared the shooting was unintentional. In 2021, the teen is sentenced to twelve years in prison, according to authorities.

    November 14, 2019 – Saugus High School – Santa Clarita, California. Nathaniel Berhow, 16, opens fire, killing two and injuring three, then shoots himself.

    May 6, 2019 – STEM School Highlands Ranch – Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Suspects Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, are apprehended after a shooting leaves one dead and eight others injured. Erickson is later sentenced to life in prison without parole while McKinney is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

    May 18, 2018 – Santa Fe High School – Santa Fe, Texas. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly opens fire killing 10 and injuring 13. Pagourtzis is arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. In November 2019, he is declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.

    February 14, 2018 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – Parkland, Florida. Former student, Nikolas Cruz, 19, opens fire with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. According to law enforcement, the suspect activated a fire alarm to draw people outside to increase casualties. Cruz pleads guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Cruz is later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    January 23, 2018 – Marshall County High School – Benton, Kentucky. Gabriel R. Parker, 15, opens fire killing two and injuring 18 others. The suspect is arrested at the scene and later charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of first degree assault. Parker is later sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty.

    December 7, 2017 – Aztec High School – Aztec, New Mexico. William Atchison shoots and kills students Casey Jordan Marquez and Francisco Fernandez. Atchison, a former student at the high school, dies of what police believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    September 13, 2017 – Freeman High School – Spokane, Washington. Caleb Sharpe, a sophomore at the school, opens fire killing one student and injuring three others. Sharpe later pleads guilty and is sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

    April 10, 2017 – North Park Elementary School – San Bernardino, California. Jonathan Martinez, 8, and his teacher, Karen Smith, are killed when Cedric Anderson, Smith’s estranged husband, walks into her special needs classroom and opens fire, armed with a large-caliber revolver. Two other students are wounded. Anderson then kills himself.

    September 28, 2016 – Townville Elementary School – Greenville, South Carolina. A 14-year-old male opens fire on the playground, wounding two children and a teacher. Jacob Hall, one of the wounded children, dies three days later. Before going to the school, the teen, later identified as Jesse Osborne, shot and killed his father. In December 2018, Osborne pleads guilty to two murder charges and three attempted murder charges. In November 2019, Osborne is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years.

    October 24, 2014 – Marysville-Pilchuck High School – Marysville, Washington. Freshman Jaylen Fryberg shoots five people in the school cafeteria, killing one. Fryberg dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. A second victim dies of her injuries two days later; a third dies on October 31. A fourth victim dies on November 7.

    June 10, 2014 – Reynolds High School – Troutdale, Oregon. Jared Padgett, 15, shoots and kills 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman in the school gym. He later takes his own life.

    December 13, 2013 – Arapahoe High School – Centennial, Colorado. Karl Pierson, 18, opens fire inside, critically injuring one student and then killing himself. 17-year-old Claire Davis dies on December 21, eight days after being shot.

    October 21, 2013 – Sparks Middle School – Sparks, Nevada. 12-year-old student Jose Reyes takes his parent’s handgun to school and shoots three, injuring two 12-year-old male students and killing Mike Landsberry, a teacher and Marine veteran. He then kills himself.

    December 14, 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School – Newtown, Connecticut. Adam Lanza, 20, guns down 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adults, school staff and faculty, before turning the gun on himself. Investigating police later find Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother, dead from a gunshot wound. The final count is 27 dead.

    February 27, 2012 – Chardon High School – Chardon, Ohio. Student Daniel Parmertor, 16, is killed and four others wounded when student T.J. Lane, 17, opens fire in the school. On February 28, Demetrius Hewlin, 16, dies from his wounds and Russell King Jr., 17, is declared brain dead. In March 2013, Lane is sentenced to life in prison. On September 11, 2014, Lane escapes from prison. He is captured early the next morning.

    January 5, 2011 – Millard South High School – Omaha, Nebraska. 17-year-old Robert Butler Jr. opens fire on Principal Curtis Case and Vice Principal Vicki Kasper. Butler then kills himself about a mile from the school. Vice Principal Kasper later dies at the hospital.

    February 5, 2010 – Discovery Middle School – Madison, Alabama. 14-year-old Todd Brown dies after being shot in the head in a school hallway. Fellow ninth-grader Hammad Memon later pleads guilty and is sentenced to 30 years in prison.

    October 16, 2009 – Carolina Forest High School – Conway, South Carolina. 16-year-old student Trevor Varinecz is shot and killed by a police officer after allegedly pulling a knife and stabbing the officer.

    September 23, 2009 – John Tyler High School – Tyler, Texas. A 16-year-old, Byron Truvia, is taken into custody for stabbing and killing high school teacher Todd R. Henry. Truvia is later found unfit to stand trial.

    September 15, 2009 – Coral Gables Senior High School – Coral Gables, Florida. 17-year-old Andy Jesus Rodriguez fatally stabs 17-year-old sophomore Juan Carlos Rivera during a fight. Rodriguez is later sentenced to 40 years in prison.

    August 21, 2008 – Central High School – Knoxville, Tennessee. 15-year-old Jamar Siler shoots and kills 15-year-old Ryan McDonald. In 2011, Siler receives 30 years in prison in a plea agreement.

    January 3, 2007 – Henry Foss High School – Tacoma, Washington. Student Douglas Chanthabouly, 18, fatally shoots another student, Samnang Kok, 17. Chanthabouly is sentenced in 2009 to more than 23 years in prison for second-degree murder.

    October 2, 2006 – West Nickel Mines Amish School – Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. 32-year-old Charles Roberts IV goes to a small Amish school and takes at least 11 girls hostage. Five girls were killed and six others wounded. Roberts then kills himself.

    September 29, 2006 – Weston High School – Cazenovia, Wisconsin. 15-year-old Eric Hainstock goes to school armed with a shotgun and a handgun. After a struggle with the school janitor, Hainstock shoots and kills the school principal. He is convicted of murder in August 2007 and sentenced to life in prison.

    September 27, 2006 – Platte Canyon High School – Bailey, Colorado. 54-year-old Duane Morrison takes six female students hostage. When SWAT teams enter the school, Morrison shoots 16-year-old Emily Keyes. Morrison then kills himself. Keyes later dies at the hospital.

    November 8, 2005 – Campbell County Comprehensive High School – Jacksboro, Tennessee. 15-year-old Kenneth Bartley Jr. opens fire on a principal and two assistant principals, killing one of them and critically wounding another, authorities said. In 2007, Bartley accepts a plea bargain, but his guilty plea is later vacated. In a retrial in February 2014, Bartley is found guilty of reckless homicide and not guilty of attempted first degree murder. He is sentenced to time served and released.

    March 21, 2005 – Red Lake High School – Red Lake, Minnesota. 16-year-old Jeff Weise kills his grandfather and another adult, five students, a teacher and a security officer. He then kills himself.

    February 3, 2004 – Southwood Middle School – Palmetto Bay, Florida. 14-year-old Michael Hernandez stabs to death 14-year-old Jaime Rodrigo Gough. In 2013, an appeals court tosses Hernandez’s life sentence and remands the case for re-sentencing. In 2016, Hernandez is again sentenced to life in prison.

    September 24, 2003 – Rocori High School – Cold Spring, Minnesota. 15-year-old Jason McLaughlin shoots and kills 17-year-old Aaron Rollins and critically injures another student. The second student dies in October. In 2005, McLaughlin is sentenced to consecutive terms of life in prison for first-degree murder and 12 years for second-degree murder.

    April 24, 2003 – Red Lion Area Junior High School – Red Lion, Pennsylvania. 14-year-old James Sheets brings a revolver to school and kills his principal, Eugene Segro, and then himself.

    December 5, 2001 – Springfield High School – Springfield, Massachusetts. At a high school for troubled teens, 17-year-old Corey Ramos stabs to death Reverend Theodore Brown, a counselor at the school. In 2003, Ramos is sentenced to life in prison.

    March 5, 2001 – Santana High School – Santee, California. 15-year-old Charles “Andy” Williams kills two classmates, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, and injures 13. Williams is sentenced in 2002 to at least 50 years in prison.

    May 26, 2000 – Lake Worth Community Middle School – Lake Worth, Florida. 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill, after being sent home for misbehaving, returns to school and shoots and kills his teacher Barry Grunow. Brazill is sentenced to 28 years in prison.

    February 29, 2000 – Buell Elementary School – Mount Morris Township, Michigan. An unnamed 6-year-old boy shoots and kills a 6-year-old playmate, Kayla Rolland, at school. He is removed from his mother’s custody and put up for adoption.

    November 19, 1999 – Deming Middle School – Deming, New Mexico. 12-year-old Victor Cordova shoots and kills a 13-year-old classmate. He is sentenced to two years in juvenile detention.

    April 20, 1999 – Columbine High School – Littleton, Colorado. 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold kill 12 fellow students and one teacher before dying by suicide in the school library.

    May 21, 1998 – Thurston High School – Springfield, Oregon. After killing his parents the previous day, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel returns to Thurston High armed with a rifle. He kills two students in the school cafeteria, a 16 and a 17-year-old. He is sentenced to 112 years in prison.

    April 24, 1998 – James Parker Middle School – Edinboro, Pennsylvania. 14-year-old Andrew Wurst shoots and kills science teacher John Gillette at a school dance. He is sentenced to serve between 30 and 60 years.

    March 24, 1998 – Westside Middle School – Jonesboro, Arkansas. 11-year-old Andrew Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson ambush fellow students and their teachers, killing five. Johnson is incarcerated in a youth facility and released on his 21st birthday, August 11, 2005. Golden is released on his 21st birthday, May 25, 2007.

    December 1, 1997 – Heath High School – West Paducah, Kentucky. 14-year-old Michael Carneal opens fire on a school prayer group, killing three girls, who were 14, 15 and 17. He is serving life in prison.

    October 1, 1997 – Pearl High School – Pearl, Mississippi. After killing his mother at home, 16-year-old Luke Woodham arrives at school and shoots two classmates. Woodham is serving three life sentences plus 140 years.

    February 19, 1997 – Bethel High School – Bethel, Alaska. 16-year-old Evan Ramsey uses a shotgun stolen from his foster home to kill a 15-year-old student and the school principal. He is currently serving a term of 210 years.

    September 25, 1996 – Dekalb Alternative School – Decatur, Georgia. 16-year-old David Dubose Jr. shoots and kills English teacher Horace Morgan on the steps of the school. Dubose is found not guilty by reason of insanity and is committed indefinitely to a state mental hospital.

    February 2, 1996 – Frontier Junior High School – Moses Lake, Washington. 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis takes a rifle to school and kills two classmates and a teacher. He is sentenced to life in prison.

    January 19, 1996 – Winston Education Center – Washington. Two masked gunmen kill 14-year-old Damion Blocker in a stairwell. 16-year-old shooter Darrick Evans is given a sentence of 41 years to life in prison.

    November 15, 1995 – Richland High School – Lynnville, Tennessee. 17-year-old Jamie Rouse kills a business teacher and a 16-year-old student. Rouse is serving a life sentence.

    October 12, 1995 – Blackville-Hilda High School – Blackville, South Carolina. 15-year-old Toby Sincino kills a teacher and then himself.

    November 7, 1994 – Wickliffe Middle School – Wickliffe, Ohio. 37-year-old drifter Keith Ledeger shoots and kills school custodian Peter Christopher and injures three others. Ledeger is sentenced to life in prison.

    April 12, 1994 – Margaret Leary Elementary School – Butte, Montana. 10-year-old James Osmanson, teased because his parents have AIDS, shoots and kills an 11-year-old on the school playground. Osmanson is sent to a private residential treatment center.

    February 1, 1994 – Valley View Junior High School – Simi Valley, California. 13-year-old Philip Hernandez stabs to death a 14-year-old student in a school hallway. Hernandez is sentenced to four years in a California Youth Authority prison.

    December 1, 1993 – Wauwatosa West High School – Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. 21-year-old former student Leonard McDowell returns to his high school and kills Associate Principal Dale Breitlow. He is sentenced to life in prison.

    May 24, 1993 – Upper Perkiomen High School – Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. 15-year-old student Jason Smith kills another student who had bullied him. He is sentenced to between 12 and 25 years in prison.

    April 15, 1993 – Ford Middle School – Acushnet, Massachusetts. 44-year-old David Taber invades a middle school and takes three hostages. He later shoots and kills school nurse Carol Day. He is found not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity.

    April 12, 1993 – Dartmouth High School – Dartmouth, Massachusetts. 16-year-old Jason Robinson is stabbed to death in his social studies class by three teenage attackers who invade the classroom.

    January 18, 1993 – East Carter High School – Grayson, Kentucky. 17-year-old student Scott Pennington shoots and kills a teacher and custodian. He is sentenced to life in prison.

    May 1, 1992 – Lindhurst High School – Olivehurst, California. 20-year-old dropout Eric Houston returns to his high school and kills a former teacher and three students. Houston is sentenced to death.

    February 26, 1992 – Thomas Jefferson High School – Brooklyn, New York. A 15-year-old shoots and kills two other students. The shooter, Kahlil Sumpter, is sentenced in 1993 to between 6 2/3 and 20 years in prison and is released in 1998.

    November 25, 1991 – Thomas Jefferson High School – Brooklyn, New York. A stray bullet kills a 16-year-old student during an argument between two other teens. Shooter Jason Bentley, 14, is sentenced in 1992 to three to nine years in prison.

    January 17, 1989 – Cleveland Elementary School – Stockton, California. 24-year-old drifter Patrick Purdy uses an AK-47 to kill five children on an elementary school playground. He then takes his own life.

    December 16, 1988 – Atlantic Shores Christian School – Virginia Beach, Virginia. 16-year-old Nicholas Elliot shoots and kills teacher Karen Farley. Elliott is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

    September 26, 1988 – Oakland Elementary School – Greenwood, South Carolina. 19-year-old James Wilson, copying the Winnetka, Illinois murders, kills 8-year-olds Tequila Thomas and Shequila Bradley in their school cafeteria. Wilson’s death sentence is overturned in January 2003.

    May 20, 1988 – Hubbard Woods Elementary School – Winnetka, Illinois. 30-year-old Laurie Dann invades an elementary school and kills an 8-year-old boy. She injures six other people before taking her own life.

    February 11, 1988 – Pinellas Park High School – Largo, Florida. Two 15-year-olds with stolen weapons, Jason McCoy and Jason Harless, shoot and kill Assistant Principal Richard Allen. McCoy serves two years in prison, and Harless serves eight.

    March 2, 1987 – Dekalb High School – Dekalb, Missouri. 12-year-old Nathan Faris, who was teased about being overweight, shoots 13-year-old Timothy Perrin and then takes his own life.

    December 4, 1986 – Fergus High School – Lewistown, Montana. 14-year-old Kristofer Hans shoots and kills substitute teacher Henrietta Smith. He is sentenced to 206 years in prison in 1988.

    May 16, 1986 – Cokeville Elementary School – Cokeville, Wyoming. A couple in their 40s, David and Doris Young, take over an elementary school with a bomb and hold 150 children and adults hostage, demanding $300 million in ransom. The bomb accidentally detonates, setting the school on fire. Investigators later determine that during the fire David Young shot his wife and then killed himself. 74 people were injured in the fire.

    January 21, 1985 – Goddard Junior High School – Goddard, Kansas. 14-year-old James Kearbey shoots and kills Principal Jim McGee. Kearbey spends seven years in juvenile detention and is released at the age of 21. On October 31, 2001, Kearbey is involved in a six-hour standoff with Wichita, Kansas, police. No injuries resulted and Kearbey is later acquitted of aggravated assault on a police officer.

    February 24, 1984 – 49th Street School – Los Angeles. Sniper Tyrone Mitchell shoots at children on an elementary school playground, killing one and injuring 11. He later takes his own life.

    January 20, 1983 – Parkway South Junior High – St. Louis. An unnamed 14-year-old shoots and kills another student before turning the gun on himself.

    March 19, 1982 – Valley High School – Las Vegas. 17-year-old Pat Lizotte shoots and kills psychology teacher Clarence Piggott during class. Lizotte is sentenced to life in prison.

    January 29, 1979 – Grover Cleveland Elementary – San Diego. 16-year-old Brenda Spencer opens fire on a school across from her home, killing the principal and janitor.

    May 18, 1978 – Murchison Junior High School – Austin, Texas. 13-year-old John Christian shoots and kills his English teacher Wilbur Grayson, during class. The shooter is the son of George Christian, press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson from 1967 to 1969. After time in a psychiatric hospital, Christian attends high school in the Dallas area.

    February 22, 1978 – Everett High School – Lansing, Michigan. 15-year-old Roger Needham kills another student who had bullied him. After four years in juvenile detention, Needham is released. He later earns a Ph.D in math and works as a professor in Missouri and New York.

    March 18, 1975 – Sumner High School – St. Louis. 16-year-old Stephen Goods, a bystander, is shot and killed during a fight between other teens.

    December 30, 1974 – Olean High School – Olean, New York. Honors student Anthony Barbaro kills a school janitor and two passers-by. Barbaro later kills himself while awaiting trial.

    October 5, 1966 – Grand Rapids High School – Grand Rapids, Minnesota. 15-year-old David Black injures another student before killing teacher Forrest Willey.

    September 15, 1959 – Edgar Allen Poe Elementary – Houston. Convict Paul Orgeron explodes a suitcase of dynamite on a school playground, killing himself, two adults and three children.

    May 18, 1927 – Bath Consolidated Schoolhouse – Bath, Michigan. Farmer Andrew Kehoe sets off two explosions at the school, killing himself, six adults and 38 children.

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  • Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    … Monday. 
    Under current state law, marijuana establishments must pay a community … the costs imposed by the marijuana establishment.  
    “Reasonably related” means there … offset the operation of a marijuana establishment. Those costs could include …

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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    MMP News Author

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  • 4 people die in a Los Angeles murder-suicide shooting, police say

    4 people die in a Los Angeles murder-suicide shooting, police say

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    LOS ANGELES — Four people are dead following what police in Los Angeles characterized as a murder-suicide in the Granada Hills area on Saturday.

    Officers responded shortly before 7 p.m. to a report of a shooting in the 11600 block of Lerdo Avenue and found four people who were pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators determined the shooting was a murder-suicide, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

    After receiving the call, there was no answer when the officers arrived and knocked at the door, police said.

    Police forced entry into the home and a survivor of the shooting directed them to three victims. The deceased included a man in his late 40s and two women, one in her late 40s and another who was about 80. They all died of gunshot wounds, police said.

    Officers also found a man in his late 80s who was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a different area of the home. He was believed to have shot the others, police said.

    “The witness was inside and fortunately was not harmed during the incident and was able to barricade themselves and call the police,” LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz said during a press briefing.

    The names of the victims and a possible motive were not immediately released.

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  • Family of teen who died by suicide warns of dangers of financial sextortion

    Family of teen who died by suicide warns of dangers of financial sextortion

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    Washington — James Woods, a 17-year-old college-bound track star, had just gotten his driver’s license and posed for his senior yearbook photo when an online predator targeted him on Instagram. 

    James received 200 messages in less than 20 hours, according to his mother, Tamia Woods.   

    “It ranged anywhere from ‘I own you,’ to ‘you need to take your own life,’” Woods told CBS News. 

    The FBI calls what happened to James financial sextortion.

    “Any child can be a victim of this crime,” said Abbigail Beccaccio, unit chief for the FBI Child Exploitation Unit. 

    It consists of minors being coerced into sharing compromised images of themselves by criminals who are often working together overseas. The coercion can take place on gaming and video-streaming platforms, or instant messaging apps.

    “This is a predator that is solely interested in financial gain,” Beccaccio said.

    Children, some as young as 9 years old, are told to send money, or the photos will be posted online.    

    From October 2021 through March 2023, the FBI tracked roughly 12,600 sextortion victims — all of them minors. Since 2021, at least 20 children who were victims of sextortion have died by suicide, according to the FBI, including James Woods.

    “The most horrible phone call I’ve received, that my only child, my blessing…is no longer here,” Tamia Woods said.

    The FBI is trying to warn parents and encourage victims to break their silence. In December 2022, the FBI issued an alert about what it described as a “staggering” sextortion scam that had targeted more than 3,000 boys.

    That scam typically involved someone posing as a woman using a fake account and enticing the victim into sending explicit material, which the scammer then threatened to release unless the victim sent money or gift card codes.

    Beccaccio emphasizes that tips from the public are essential to helping the FBI take action.

    “That’s the intelligence, that’s the information that we have that makes law enforcement have the ability to act,” Beccaccio said.        

    The Woods family is working to shatter the stigma by sharing their story.

    “You know, he was my only child,” Tamia Woods said. “And so I have to live through my memories, and that’s all I have now, are memories.”

    The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children advises parents and children to seek assistance before deciding whether to pay the extortioners.

    “Block the suspect but DO NOT DELETE your profile or messages because that can be helpful in stopping the blackmailer,” the center advises.

    If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.

    For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.

    Nicole Sganga

    CBS News reporter covering homeland security and justice.

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  • Marjorie Taylor Greene targeted by failed Christmas swatting attempt

    Marjorie Taylor Greene targeted by failed Christmas swatting attempt

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    Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was the target of a swatting attempt at her Georgia residence on Christmas morning, the congresswoman and local police said, marking the latest instance of someone calling in a fake emergency to draw armed officers or SWAT teams to her home.

    The Rome Police Department quickly verified that the call was a hoax and did not send officers to the house, department spokesperson Kelly Madden said.

    “I was just swatted. This is like the 8th time. On Christmas with my family here. My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Greene wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

    A man in New York called the Georgia suicide hotline just before 11 a.m. Monday, claiming that he had shot his girlfriend at Greene’s home and was going to kill himself next, Madden said. The call was quickly transferred to police when suicide hotline responders recognized the Georgia congresswoman’s address.

    The department said it contacted Greene’s private security detail to confirm she was safe and that there was no emergency at her residence. The call was then determined to be a swatting attempt, so the police response was canceled en route, Madden explained.

    “We determined before our personnel could get to her location that there was no emergency and there was no reason to respond,” she said. “Her security detail had it all under control, and there actually was nothing going on.”

    The congresswoman, who represents the cities of Rome, Dalton and Calhoun in northwest Georgia, spent her first term stripped of committee assignments by the former House Democratic majority over racist comments, her embrace of conspiracy theories and her past endorsement of violence against Democratic officials. She has since gained more influence under the House’s current Republican leadership and continues to be a firebrand for the far-right.

    Greene’s statement that she has been the target of roughly eight swatting attempts is accurate, Madden said. Past calls claimed that dead bodies had been found in the bath tub and in other areas of her home, which is located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta. Police also responded last year to false reports of shootings outside her residence.

    The department said it sent officers to the house in response to those prior incidents but has since formed a close working relationship with Greene’s security detail, which allows officers to better assess the threat level. The criminal investigations division is working to identify Monday’s caller and build a case, Madden said.

    Another New York man was sentenced to three months in prison in August for making threatening phone calls to Greene’s Washington, D.C., office.

    Republican Rep. Brandon Williams said in a post on X that he was also targeted by a swatting attempt on Christmas Day. The Cayuga County Sheriff’s office said it received a false report of a shooting at the congressman’s home in central New York and sent officers to confirm that there was no present danger. Sheriff Brian Schenck did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking further details.

    “Our home was swatted this afternoon,” Williams wrote. “Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”

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  • Study Reinforces Marijuana's Power To Treat PTSD

    Study Reinforces Marijuana's Power To Treat PTSD

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    There seems to be bi-partisian support for medical marijuana to be an aide in treating PTSD. The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was introduced during summer for Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, the legislation would require the VA to examine how the plant affects sleep, agitation, mortality and hospital readmissions.  It was is critical as it healthcare professionals, veterans and counselors give the nod it is a benefit for those in need.

    Science is finally backing up these opinions. A study published in the Journal of Pharmacology looked at the patient history of 24,000 Canadians using 2012 Statistics Canada data. Researchers were interested in exploring how cannabis could affects those living with PTSD, specifically with regards to suicide and depression. Living with PTSD sharply increases the risk of depression and suicide in patients unless, researchers discovered, they consume marijuana.

    RELATED: Science Says Medical Marijuana Improves Quality Of Life

    “We know with limited effective treatment options for PTSD, many patients take to medicating with cannabis to alleviate their symptoms,” lead author Stephanie Lake told Global News. “However, until now, there has been no population-level data to suggest cannabis might have a possible therapeutic role in the course of PTSD. These findings offer those patients seeking treatment options some promise.”

    Photo by lalesh aldarwish via Pexels

    In the more than 24,000 participants, researchers found 420 Canadians who’d been clinically diagnosed with PTSD. About 28% (106 individuals) of those living with PTSD reported using cannabis in the past year. Only 11% of respondents undiagnosed with PTSD reported cannabis usage. Non-users were seven times more likely to have experienced a recent major depressive episode and had a 4.7% higher chance of contemplating suicide, compared to non-cannabis users who didn’t suffer from PTSD. Among cannabis users, the study did not find a connection between PTSD and depression or suicide.

    RELATED: Exploring The Connection Between Marijuana And PTSD

    Official VA statistics reports about 10-20% of veterans live with PTSD, depending on the service era in which they participated. But the organization’s National Suicide Report paints a starker picture — suicide rates are increasing for both veterans and non-veterans. About 20 veterans commit suicide each day, according to the report.

    While more research is necessary, as Lake and her team said, this study points to how cannabis might assist those living with PTSD.

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    Brendan Bures

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  • Ketamine infusions improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, study says | CNN

    Ketamine infusions improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, study says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    People who got intravenous ketamine at three private ketamine infusion clinics had “significant improvement” in symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, a study says.

    The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, adds to a growing body of research showing ketamine’s promise in treating these conditions.

    It “gives some more real-world data, which is incredibly important” because it helps show its potential to work in a more general population, said Dr. Gerard Sanacora, a psychiatry professor at the Yale School of Medicine.

    But the study leaves some critical gaps, including data on adverse effects and direct comparisons to other options, that make it difficult to conclude how it should be used, he said.

    Ketamine is a powerful medication used in hospitals primarily as an anesthetic. It’s also used illegally as a club drug that creates an intense high and dissociative effects. Because it’s not approved to treat depression and thus is used for that purpose “off-label,” it is not covered by insurance, even when it’s recommended by a doctor.

    The researchers looked at data on 424 people with treatment-resistant depression who were treated between November 2017 and May 2021 at three ketamine infusion clinics in Virginia that specialize in people with suicidal ideation, depression or anxiety. During each visit to the clinic, the patients filled out physical and mental health surveys. The patients were given six infusions within 21 days.

    Within six weeks of beginning infusions, the researchers say, half of the participants responded to the treatment, and 20% had depressive symptoms in remission. After 10 infusions, response and remission rates were 72% and 38%, respectively.

    Half of the patients who had suicidal ideation were in remission after six weeks, and there was a 30% reduction in anxiety symptoms over the course of treatment, according to the study.

    Response rates in the initial phase of treatment were similar to those of oral medication and transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression, the researchers say. Remission rates were on par with transcranial stimulation but weren’t quite as helpful as optimized trials of electroconvulsive therapy, both of which can be more expensive and carry added risk.

    Limitations of the research include that it was not a blind study with a control group. It didn’t look at people who declined to have infusions, and it relied on self-reported surveys.

    The researchers also note that they didn’t systematically assess side effects or adverse events of the treatment, but previous studies have not found long-term or permanent side effects on memory or cognitive decline.

    The lack of information about adverse effects is “disappointing,” Sanacora said. Ketamine comes with a “unique set of risks, both to the individual but also to society,” including the potential for drug abuse and unknown effects of frequent use, especially at higher levels.

    But without the adverse effects data – and without comparing outcomes to a control group or otherwise – it’s hard to know how to weigh the benefits against the risks.

    “My point is, I think this is an incredibly important treatment to add to our armamentarium to fight severe mood disorders and psychiatric illnesses, but we have to use it responsibly and carefully,” he said.

    In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a nasal spray that uses esketamine, a cousin of ketamine, for treatment-resistant depression. The researchers on the new study say that infusions of racemic ketamine (which uses two forms of ketamine molecules, in contrast with esketamine’s single form) are cheaper than esketamine and could result in savings if they were covered by insurance.

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  • Family of L.A. sheriff's deputy claims forced overtime drove him to suicide

    Family of L.A. sheriff's deputy claims forced overtime drove him to suicide

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    The family of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has filed a claim against the Sheriff’s Department, alleging that excessive overtime hours he was forced to work in the county jails drove him to suicide.

    Deputy Arturo Atilano Valadez was one of four current and former Sheriff’s Department employees to die by suicide in a 24-hour span early last month. Atilano, who was about to turn 50, was assigned to the North County Correctional Facility at the time of his death.

    “When it comes to him, he was working so much overtime, his wife said that he was like a zombie,” said Bradley Gage, an attorney representing Atilano’s widow and two daughters in the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.

    Gage said that sometimes, Atilano and other deputies were so exhausted that they took turns sleeping in jail cells. According to the claim, Atilano’s family is seeking $20 million in damages.

    A statement provided by the Sheriff’s Department on Saturday did not address the allegations.

    “A loss of a department family member is extremely tragic and our continued thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” the statement said. “The department has not received the official claim, but is deeply committed to ensuring the well-being and safety of all its employees.”

    At a news conference last week recounting his first year in office, Sheriff Robert Luna said his agency is in the midst of a “staffing crisis” that has left it short about 1,200 sworn deputies.

    “The people who are working here are taking up that slack — they are working their tails off,” he told reporters. “I recognize that, we recognize that, and we have been working very hard behind the scenes to figure out a way to reduce overtime, because that’s how we’re filling in the gaps.”

    The Sheriff’s Department on Saturday could not immediately provide information about the number of vacancies of sworn personnel at the jail where Atilano was assigned and overtime requirements for deputies there.

    A request by The Times for Atilano’s work history, including his time sheets, overtime hours and assignments, is also pending.

    Deputies sometimes volunteer for overtime shifts for extra money. Gage said that in Atilano’s case, those shifts were mandatory.

    “It’s illusory to say it’s voluntary,” Gage told The Times. “They’re required to work eight overtime shifts in a month … So if they don’t volunteer, then they get drafted.”

    Gage said that Atilano joined the department more than 21 years ago and spent the last dozen working in the jails. Gage said Atilano asked to leave the custody assignment, but his transfer requests were repeatedly denied. He added that forced overtime is a problem department wide, beyond custody facilities.

    Gage is also representing the parents of a deputy who was shot in the head while driving his patrol car in September. The family of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer alleges that he was forced to work so much overtime that he struggled to stay alert.

    “They’re so exhausted, working so much overtime, that they can’t function,” Gage said.

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    Alene Tchekmedyian

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  • Cause Of Death Disclosed For Billy Miller, Late ‘Young And The Restless’ Star

    Cause Of Death Disclosed For Billy Miller, Late ‘Young And The Restless’ Star

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    The actor was found dead at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 43.

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  • As Disneyland reels from its third death in a year, what can be done to prevent suicides?

    As Disneyland reels from its third death in a year, what can be done to prevent suicides?

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    In San Francisco, a safety net is under construction at the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent future tragedies.

    In New York City, college officials opted for metal screens at a library where students had died. And in Missouri, fencing and steel mesh went up at a Columbia parking garage after a public outcry.

    Across the nation, the installation of fencing, nets or other physical barriers at tall structures has become a recognized strategy for preventing suicides. As the Disneyland Resort reels from the third such death in a year, many advocates say that such safety barriers have been shown to save lives.

    Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources

    If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.

    Experts say that such barriers or obstructions can help buy time for someone to intervene or for a person’s suicidal impulse to dissipate. That can be critical because such feelings can soon evaporate: Most people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die of suicide later, studies have found.

    Since its most recent death, Disneyland has not publicly announced the installation of new fencing or other barriers, and has not answered questions from The Times about whether it was considering such a move.

    “In an effort to deter this type of tragedy, we have long had multilayered security protocols in place at our parking structures, which we have substantially enhanced over time,” a Disneyland Resort spokesperson said in an email. “However, as with all of our security and safety measures, we don’t discuss specifics so as not to compromise our efforts.”

    Last week, Anaheim police were called to a structure at the Disneyland Resort and found the body of a 24-year-old man. His death is being investigated as a suicide.

    People died in similar incidents in February 2023 and December 2022 at the same kind of structure at the Disneyland Resort, according to the Anaheim Police Department. Three others died in the same way in the area in 2010, 2012 and 2016, bringing the reported total to six since 2010.

    Installing physical barriers such as fences can help prevent deaths by stopping people from acting on a fleeting impulse, researchers say. In New Zealand, for instance, researchers found that suicides spiked after safety barriers were removed from a bridge, then stopped after barriers were reinstalled.

    When someone is suicidal, “their mental state is often in a state of crisis. And so they have less flexibility in their thinking,” said Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

    As a result, she said, if a physical barrier stops them from acting, “they’re not likely to shift gears and think of something else … They don’t say, ‘I can’t do that; let me do this instead.’”

    If there is a risk of suicide at a site, “there’s really no reason not to put a barrier in and every reason to put a barrier in,” Harkavy-Friedman said.

    Neither an Anaheim city spokesperson nor other city officials answered questions from The Times about whether the city had suggested that Disneyland install barriers following last week’s incident.

    “Our thoughts go out to a family grieving the loss of a loved one and to all who were impacted,” Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said in a statement. “We want to respect them and also an ongoing review of the incident.”

    “We encourage everyone to continue raising awareness of the tragedy of suicide and the importance of mental health,” she added.

    Efforts to construct barriers typically focus on tall structures where deaths have occurred. Parking garages are a particular concern for suicide prevention, because they tend to have open sides and less monitoring than other tall structures, according to the International Parking & Mobility Institute.

    Bridges are also a common target of such interventions. In Pasadena, officials have erected mesh fencing at the Colorado Street Bridge and have unveiled several designs for permanent barriers to protect the public. In San Francisco, a 3.5-mile-long network of stainless steel mesh is nearly complete at the Golden Gate Bridge, where roughly 2,000 people have died by suicide since the iconic structure’s opening in 1937.

    The $217-million safety netting, which extends 20 feet out from the bridge, was designed to blend in with the span’s architecture. Between 2011 and 2020, there were an average of nearly 34 deaths by suicide at the bridge every year. In 2022, when the first part of the safety barrier was installed, there were 22 such deaths, bridge spokesperson Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz said.

    And fatal incidents have continued to decrease as the barrier netting has grown. As of Oct. 31, there had been 13 deaths by suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge this year, Cosulich-Schwartz said.

    “Restricting easy access to lethal means reduces suicides,” said Paul Muller, president of the Bridge Rail Foundation, a nonprofit that has advocated for a safety barrier at the Golden Gate since 2006.

    In a 2015 analysis of 22 peer-reviewed journal articles on suicide prevention methods, researchers found that measures that physically blocked people from accessing potentially lethal sites such as bridges or train tracks led, on average, to a 91% drop in deaths by suicide at those sites.

    “Barriers work,” said study author Jane Pirkis, director of the Center for Mental Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne.

    However, some scholars have argued that more studies are needed on their effectiveness. In 2020, researchers in the United Kingdom who reviewed existing studies said they had “methodological limitations.” More research is needed on the “potential for suicide method substitution and displacement,” they wrote.

    Veronica Kelley, chief of mental health and recovery services for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said that “while there is evidence that restricting access to means of suicide is an effective approach for preventing suicides, the evidence for preventing suicide by jumping is not well-established.”

    “Calling attention to suicide prevention is the most effective way to reduce suicides,” Kelley said.

    The Orange County agency is “actively participating in a national campaign with the goal of achieving zero suicides,” she said, and “we can all do our part by calling attention to the fact that suicide is preventable, treatment works, and recovery happens.”

    Harkavy-Friedman, who characterized the research on barriers as “quite strong,” said “there’s no reason to have an either/or — we need both. We need public education and we need barriers.”

    At some sites where barriers are impractical, advocates have also pushed for signage. Harkavy-Friedman said there is not a lot of research on the effectiveness of such signs in preventing suicide.

    Cincinnati-based editor Laura Trujillo learned after her mother died by suicide at Grand Canyon National Park in 2012 that dozens of people had lost their lives in the park the same way. Still, the thought of a barrier along the 277-mile canyon struck her as logistically improbable.

    Then in 2018, while visiting her eldest son at the Ohio State University, she saw a flier posted at a site where a student had died. It said: “Remember: You Matter,” alongside the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number.

    The simple language struck her. If a person in crisis couldn’t be physically blocked from a dangerous location, she thought, perhaps they could still be deterred from harming themselves.

    Trujillo began writing letters to the National Park Service to encourage suicide prevention signs at the canyon. Although park officials never confirmed to her that they were taking any specific action, in 2021 she was sent a photograph of a sign with the Lifeline number inside a free park shuttle bus.

    When she saw the photo, Trujillo burst into tears. It was the same shuttle service her mother had taken on her last day.

    “I think of my mom sitting there. If that sign was up there, I have no idea if it could have interrupted her train of thought,” she said. But “sometimes, we all need that reminder.”

    If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 988. The first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Or text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.

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    Emily Alpert Reyes, Corinne Purtill

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  • ‘All I wanted to do was live’: After years of debate, a suicide safety net for the Golden Gate Bridge is nearing completion. Survivors say it’ll give many a 2nd chance at life | CNN

    ‘All I wanted to do was live’: After years of debate, a suicide safety net for the Golden Gate Bridge is nearing completion. Survivors say it’ll give many a 2nd chance at life | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    On September 25, 2000, Kevin Hines climbed over the rail of the Golden Gate Bridge.

    White fog hung below the gray skies that day. He recalled looking down at the rough, green waters below moments before he did the unthinkable: He jumped.

    “My hands left the rail and I had an instantaneous regret for my actions,” Hines told CNN.

    Hines fell 220 feet at a speed of 75 miles per hour – “equivalent to a pedestrian being struck by a car that is traveling that fast,” according to the Bridge Rail Foundation, a nonprofit working to prevent suicides on the bridge.

    During the 4-second fall, Hines said the feeling of depression left his mind, and was replaced by a survival urge he described as almost instinctual.

    “And at that time, all I wanted to do was live.”

    After he was rescued from the water, Hines needed three vertebrae replaced with a titanium metal plate and pins, ultimately undergoing four and half weeks of recovery. And in the years since, Hines has been traveling the world to share his rare testimony.

    “I have met thousands of people who have survived mild, moderate to extreme suicide attempts who have all said they each had the same instant regret,” Hines said. “They recognized their thoughts didn’t have to become their actions.”

    More than a confirmed 1,800 people have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge since it was built in 1937, according to the Bridge Rail Foundation. The very first incident happened that same year.

    Hines is one of 39 people known to survive the deadly leap. “Nineteen have come forward to say they all had the exact same instant regret that I had,” Hines said.

    After years of debate over installing a suicide deterrent on the iconic bridge, a net is now nearing completion.

    In 2018, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District began building a net along the perimeter of the 1.7 mile long bridge.

    The $217 million project consists of the installation of a stainless steel net, 20 feet below the sidewalk on both sides of the bridge, according to Golden Gate Bridge spokesperson Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz.

    “The amount of net that we’re installing is the equivalent of seven football fields,” Cosulich-Schwartz told CNN.

    It’s a project proponents hope will offer many people a second chance at life.

    While Hines noted not all those who jump may feel regretful, he said he can’t help but empathize with those who did experience the same feeling but never got another chance to choose life.

    “Recognizing that all the people that passed away might have wished they were still here… it’s a very troubling thing to think about,” he said.

    ‘A symbol of hope and care’

    Kevin Berthia attempted to jump off the Golden Gate on March 11, 2005. But after jumping, he ended up clinging to a railing for over an hour and a half.

    “I swung myself around and smacked into the railing, and got on that 4-inch cord,” Berthia recalled.

    Mental health advocate Kevin Berthia, who has survived his own suicide attempts, poses in 2021 in Sacramento, California.

    And he held onto that cord as California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Briggs talked to him about reasons to choose life. It was in this 92-minute conversation that Berthia began to experience regret.

    If you suspect someone may be suicidal:

  • 1. Do not leave the person alone.
  • 2. Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt.
  • 3. Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
  • 4. Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
  • Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For more tips and warning signs, click here.

While he credits Briggs for saving his life, Berthia also said he believes a safety net would have made a world of difference that day.

“I looked over that rail and all I saw was the water,” Berthia told CNN. “If I saw a deterrent, I would have probably been like, ‘OK, maybe this is not meant to be.’”

He desperately needed a sign that someone cared about him, Berthia added: “I needed something to say no.”

While the purpose of the net is “to reduce the number of injuries and deaths from jumping off the bridge,” bridge spokesperson Cosulich-Schwartz said it’s also meant to serve as that sign Berthia was looking for 18 years ago.

“The net is a symbol of hope and care for people who may be experiencing the worst day of their lives,” Cosulich-Schwartz said.

“It is a large, visible and permanent symbol that there are people in the community that care about you,” he continued. “And, if necessary, offer people a second chance.”

The net is currently 80% built, and is set to be completed in December, according to the bridge officials.

The construction of this deterrent won’t be a temporary solution in suicide prevention, according to researchers.

A 1978 study of Golden Gate Bridge suicide attempters found more than 90% of those who were stopped remained alive decades later, and didn’t go on to take their own lives.

Sabrina Hernandez, Golden Gate Bridge District Board President, touches a net during a press on May 16, 2019.

Since the Golden Gate’s opening, suicide prevention groups and nonprofits like the Bridge Rail Foundation have continuously pushed for a deterrent of some sort on the bridge.

“Originally, we wanted to raise the rail,” Hines said, which would be similar to the 11-foot steel fence that encloses the George Washington Bridge in New York City.

The transportation district invited public comment on the potential project, and the opinions of the board and local residents were deeply divided.

“We got shut down with that because it was obstructing the view and people didn’t want to ruin the aesthetics of the bridge,” Hines told CNN. “And I always say, what are the aesthetics of a bridge compared to one human life?”

In 2014, the bridge’s board of directors unanimously approved the funding for the safety net construction.

“Engineers designed the Net to minimize impacts to Bridge views and appearance,” according to a Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District release, which noted the addition would still “slightly diminish the integrity of the the historic features.”

Berthia acknowledged many people enjoy the beauty and history of the Golden Gate. “And I get that, but we don’t listen to enough people that have lost loved ones off that bridge,” he said.

Thirty people or more die by suicide at the bridge each year on average, according to the release, with hundreds more stopped by law enforcement or other citizens.

“Ultimately, a physical barrier is needed to stop this tragedy,” the release said. “The selected design allows open, scenic vistas to remain intact, while preventing anyone from easily jumping to the water below.”

“I’m so grateful that not one more beautiful person with loved ones, and family and friends who care for them is ever again, gonna die by their hands off of the Golden Gate Bridge,” Hines said. “I thank God every day I get to be alive to see it.”

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  • Ramaswamy Eyes Enabling Access to DMT, MDMA for PTSD in Veterans Policy Plan – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Ramaswamy Eyes Enabling Access to DMT, MDMA for PTSD in Veterans Policy Plan – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s veteran policy platform includes taking “a holistic approach” to aid veterans during and after their time in service, including making marijuana, ayahuasca, and MDMA accessible for veterans as part of the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

    Ramaswamy’s campaign shared his plan exclusively with Breitbart News before he officially unveils it on the trail in New Hampshire on Saturday, Veterans Day.

    RELATED VIDEO — ”I Don’t Want to Lose You” Former Marine NYPD Officer SAVES Vet from Jumping Off Bridge:

    NYPD/BODY CAMS+ /TMX

    “As President, I will take a holistic approach to ensure Veterans receive the care they need to live long, flourishing lives — starting during their service and continuing in the decades that follow,” Ramaswamy’s policy plan states.

    His plan for assisting in-service veterans includes creating “two-week decompression buffers” through the Department of Defense (DOD). This would be in a third location following a tour of duty separate from the United States and where the servicemember was in combat to ensure they “are able to slowly reacclimate to life away from the frontlines.”

    He will also advocate for the DOD to implement guidelines encouraging servicemembers “to report PTSD under privacy protections” if elected. Under current guidelines, Ramaswamy believes “too many” servicemembers often do not report instances of PTSD due to fear of…

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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    MMP News Author

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  • FOUR LA Sheriff’s Department Officers Dead By Suicide Within 24 Hours: REPORT – Perez Hilton

    FOUR LA Sheriff’s Department Officers Dead By Suicide Within 24 Hours: REPORT – Perez Hilton

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    [Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is reeling after the deaths of four “beloved” active and retired officers.

    In an email statement to KTLA on Tuesday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna addressed a jaw-dropping report that has shocked the community: within 24 hours, four officers died, all said to be by suicide. Luna did not confirm the manners of death, but multiple anonymous sources suggested to the LA Times that suicide was the consistent factor among the four fallen men.

    Related: Black Panther Stuntman & 3 Of His Kids Die In Horrific Georgia Car Wreck

    The first was discovered on Monday at around 10:30 a.m. in Valencia, and just two hours later another was found in Lancaster. Later that same evening at 5:40 p.m., LASD detectives discovered a third deputy in Stevenson Ranch, while the fourth was found on Tuesday at around 7:30 a.m. in Pomona. The outlet reported one of the victims was 25-year vet Commander Darren Harris, who was allegedly discovered with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while another was Sergeant Greg Hovland.

    How utterly confounding. FOUR deaths by suicide in just 24 hours?? We know these types of self-harm incidents tend to cluster in families, but in a single day??

    Luna wrote in his statement:

    “We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shockwaves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family. During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends. I have the deepest concern for our employees’ well-being, and we are urgently exploring avenues to reduce work stress factors to support our employees’ work and personal lives.”

    The deaths are being investigated by homicide detectives and the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner. As of now, authorities — believe it or not — do NOT believe they’re related! However, retired Santa Monica police officer Cristina Coria alluded to what sounds like a mental health crisis within the force that isn’t being addressed. She told Fox 11 on Wednesday:

    “There are so many officers that I know that have talked about committing suicide that I never thought in a million years would think about it or talk about it. There are so many officers out there that are struggling with their identity, with finances, with relationship problems, with addictions to pain meds, addiction to alcohol, you name it. There are so many things going on, that our departments are not reaching out to them [struggling officers] enough.”

    See more (below):

    Wow. The LASD added that its Psychological Services Bureau and the Injury and Health Support Unit are providing support to the families of the victims. We hope everyone gets some answers soon.

    If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org

    [Images via FOX 11 Los Angeles/YouTube]

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    Perez Hilton

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  • Four current and former L.A. Sheriff’s Department employees died of suicide in a 24-hour span

    Four current and former L.A. Sheriff’s Department employees died of suicide in a 24-hour span

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    Warning: This story includes discussion of suicide.

    The suicide deaths of four current and former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department employees over a 24-hour span have prompted a plea from Sheriff Robert Luna urging deputies to check on the well-being of their colleagues and friends.

    “We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shock waves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family,” Luna said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends.”

    Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources

    If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.

    Luna said he had the “deepest concern for our employees’ well-being,” adding that the department was “urgently exploring avenues to reduce work stress factors to support our employees’ work and personal lives.” He said the department’s Homicide Bureau would investigate the deaths.

    There is no indication that that the deaths were related or that foul play was involved, but department sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said the third and fourth deaths were discovered as word of the earlier deaths were spreading through the agency.

    Luna’s comments came a day after the suicides of one former and three current employees, which occurred within a 24-hour span that began Monday.

    Among them was Cmdr. Darren Harris, who became a recognizable figure on TV news over a 25-year career during which he served as a chief department spokesperson. Harris was found dead in his home in Santa Clarita on Monday morning, according to multiple sources. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said the sources, who agreed to speak with The Times on the condition of anonymity because his death hasn’t been publicly acknowledged.

    Harris rose steadily through department ranks, with several stopovers in media relations, along with stints in which he oversaw the Transit Services Bureau and ran the Santa Clarita station.

    Sometime after noon Monday, authorities found the body of Greg Hovland, a sergeant who worked in the Antelope Valley before his retirement, at his Quartz Hill home, according to the sources. Another employee was found dead shortly after sunset at a residence in Stevenson Ranch. The fourth death was reported at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, when sheriff’s homicide detectives responded to a hospital in Pomona where an employee died from suicide.

    Observers said the suicides underscored a long-standing problem for law enforcement officers across Los Angeles as elsewhere. In recent years, studies have shown that more officers have died by suicide than the number killed in the line of duty. Officers also have higher risks of suicide than the general population, a disparity that some researchers have attributed to the stresses of police work and heightened public scrutiny over recent high-profile law enforcement killings — combined with their easy access to firearms.

    The risk is particularly acute among members of smaller departments, researchers say, which tend to have fewer resources available for officers struggling with suicidal thoughts. According to the website Blue H.E.L.P., which tracks officer suicides, 81 officers have taken their lives this year across the country; in 2022, there were 172 suicides.

    In his statement, Luna said the department’s Psychological Services Bureau and the Injury and Health Support Unit were working to provide counseling and other resources to the families of the officers.

    “Additionally, the department has a Peer Support Program that members can use for additional assistance,” Luna said in his statement.

    Four other Sheriff’s Department employees died by suicide this year, said Nicole Nishida, an agency spokesperson.

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    Libor Jany, Richard Winton

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  • Former NYC jail guards avoid prison time for 8-minute delay in helping inmate who attempted suicide

    Former NYC jail guards avoid prison time for 8-minute delay in helping inmate who attempted suicide

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    NEW YORK — Two former New York City jail guards have avoided prison time for what authorities called their failure to intervene in a teenage inmate’s suicide attempt for nearly eight minutes until it was too late to save him from serious brain damage in 2019.

    Daniel Fullerton and Mark Wilson received conditional discharges after pleading guilty to misdemeanor official misconduct in May and September, respectively, the Daily News reported Friday. They will not serve any time in jail if they stay out of trouble for a year.

    Fullerton, Wilson and two other officers were charged in connection with 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano’s suicide attempt at the Rikers Island jail complex on Nov. 27, 2019. The other officers’ cases remain pending. Feliciano suffered permanent brain damage and needs long-term medical care.

    Prosecutors said jail guards were seen on surveillance video walking past Feliciano and taking no action for seven minutes and 51 seconds. An investigation report by the city Board of Correction later found that the officers believed Feliciano was faking a suicide attempt.

    The report also says Feliciano had a history of depression and previously had tried to harm himself in jail on multiple occasions. He was at Rikers on a parole violation connected to robbery cases. It recommended several actions, including a system to immediately identify people with prior histories of self-harm while in jail and a reevaluation of mental health training for guards.

    The Bronx district attorney’s office issued a statement when the guards were indicted but did not publicly announce Fullerton and Wilson’s guilty pleas and sentences, the Daily News reported. All the guards were initially charged with misdemeanor official misconduct and felony reckless endangerment, which can carry up to seven years in prison.

    David Rankin, a lawyer for Feliciano’s family, said they are “gratified” that the two guards took responsibility in pleading guilty. But he added, “It is shocking you can just let someone almost die and you don’t get so much as community service.”

    The Bronx district attorney’s office declined to comment.

    Contact information for Fullerton and Wilson could not be immediately found in public records Saturday.

    Fullerton’s lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, said Fullerton took immediate action when he saw Feliciano in distress and called the prosecution “heavy-handed.”

    “I just thought it was political and overkill,” he said in a phone interview Saturday with The Associated Press.

    Information about Wilson’s case and his lawyer was not listed in online court records. Fullerton quit the Correction Department and Wilson was fired, the Daily News reported.

    The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association also has called the officers’ indictments politically motivated and called on prosecutors to charge inmates who assault guards.

    The Rikers Island complex has been criticized in multiple reports for inmate deaths, violence, mold and other problems. In August, a federal judge agreed to begin a process that could wrest control of the city’s troubled jail system from Mayor Eric Adams and place a court-appointed outside authority in charge of Rikers Island.

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