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| Weapon: Ashley Duncan posted this picture of a revolver, which she was holding, before she killed herself |
A popular high school student committed suicide after her cries for help to her hundreds of online friends were ignored.
Ashley Duncan, 17, wrote ‘I finally got a gun’ and then posted a picture of a revolver which, soon after, it isbelieved she used to shoot herself dead.
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| Suicide: Ashley Duncan, 17, wrote 'I finally got a gun' and then posted a picture of a revolver which, just hours later, it is believed she used to shoot herself dead |
It followed a series of increasingly dark posts on Tumblr and Twitter where she talked of suicide, questioned the meaning of her life and said she was ‘miserable’.
She wrote: ‘Life ain’t worth the pain. if you know or have known what it feels like to want to die every minute second hour day week month year then you feel me.
‘I might not struggle financially but I struggle emotionally and mentally and I think that’s the worst struggle.
‘So in asking why can’t it be my choice to die now?… I’m miserable.
‘One day I won’t be here anymore and that’ll be the happiest day of my life… I’m tired and I’m done with this life.’
‘It’s like God is torturing me by keeping me here.’ She also wrote: ‘The only thing that made me happy is gone…I’m miserable.’
The ‘thing’ she refers to is not clear, but a previous post suggests she had just split up with a partner.
She had written: ‘My heart is broken. I’m not picking up the pieces and I’m not gonna rely on anybody to put my heart back together. It’s just that destroyed.’
Keen volleyball player Duncan was said to be a popular student at Bellaire High School, where she reportedly left in October to move to Pershing High School to graduate early.
But on Monday the seemingly happy teenager walked to a reservoir near the intersection of Braes Forest Drive and Portal Drive and killed herself.
Her Bellaire friends said they thought the posts were a joke. Theresa Sosa said: ‘I didn’t exactly pay attention to it because she would always play around. I never thought she was serious.
‘After that, everybody should take everyone serious. Don’t ever underestimate what somebody is capable of doing.’
Kelly Fowlkes added: ‘People were “liking” it and not really putting two and two together. It’s a sad tragedy.’ And fellow student Isaiah Laprint said the death was ‘a wake up call’.
He said: ‘When you see anybody posting an image of a gun and saying they’re going to kill themselves, you need to call that person or call their parent.’
Suicide prevention advocate Bill Berger said the tragedy could have stemmed from today’s trend of expressing serious feelings online rather than in person.
He said: ‘A lot of times, people do have that one final outburst of a call for help.
‘In the olden days, you had to talk face to face. Now we have this wall of protection called the Internet and I think it’s easier for people to release their feelings.’
Duncan may have believed her friends were listening, but in reality no-one can guarantee that people in the cyberworld are paying attention.
Duncan’s mother told FOX 26: ‘Parents should pay more attention to their kids, and kids should talk, not text.’
Dozens of online posts have re-itirated the message, with Craigorylevon posting on Tumblr: ‘If you ever find yourself in the position that you don’t want to live anymore, just please talk it out before you decide to do anything. Talking Helps A lot.
And Shortmocha added: ‘A few years back my friend/ex-boyfriend committed suicide as well, and I’m reminded of it when I think of this circumstance.
‘Could it have been prevented? Are we always so caught up in our own lives that we fail to realize when those closest to us need help?
‘In her case all of the signs were there. Her tumblr posts showed that she had planned on taking her life and it seems that no one paid any attention. She tweeted about finally getting a gun, and even posted a picture of her with it, just like my ex did.’
The suicide follows that of 18-year-old student Ashley Billasano, from nearby Rosenberg, who sent 144 tweets expressing her pain and grief before killing herself in November.
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