Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 Florida Parkland school shooting, passed away at the age of 26.
In a Facebook post, Donovan’s family wrote that he died by suicide on December 15, following a seven-year battle with schizophrenia.
Donovan was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where America’s fourth-deadliest school shooting took place.
Highlights
- Donovan Metayer, a 2018 Parkland shooting survivor, died by suicide at 26 after a 7-year battle with schizophrenia.
- His mental health declined soon after the shooting, with depression, guilt, and isolation replacing his vibrant personality.
- Despite multiple hospitalizations and treatments, systemic barriers made managing his mental health especially difficult.
A survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting died by suicide after battling schizophrenia
Image credits: GoFundMe
Gunman Nikolas Cruz had opened fire, killing 17 students and staff members on February 14, 2018.
On GoFundMe, his family stated Douglas’s seven-year battle with schizophrenia began almost immediately after the mass shooting.
“His [Douglas] senior year was marked by the Parkland shooting, one of the most devastating acts of gun violence in our nation’s history. The trauma of that day and the loss of classmates lingered long after graduation and profoundly altered the course of his life,” the family wrote.
“In the months that followed, Donny began to withdraw. Depression, guilt, emotional instability, and long periods of isolation replaced the vibrant young man we once knew.”
The GoFundMe page was created to help cover the 26-year-old’s funeral expenses and to support an organization that assists people with behavioral health conditions in Florida.
“The loss of our family’s youngest child is a sorrow beyond words—one that will echo through our lives, forever. Yet even in our grief, we are choosing to speak Donovan’s truth, so that other families do not have to suffer in silence the way we have,” the GoFundMe page says.
“The baby of the Metayer family, ‘Donny’ as he was affectionately called, was a radiant child. Brilliant and curious, he always excelled academically, with an intellect matched only by a magnetic humor and warmth that could light up any room, effortlessly. But, beneath that light, Donny carried unimaginable sorrow.”
Image credits: GoFundMe
The family said Donovan’s worsening mental health conditions made it harder for him to achieve his dreams of learning computer science.
“Over the years that followed, he would be hospitalized multiple times for suicidal ideation. Like so many young people, he struggled to accept a mental health diagnosis,” the family said.
They added he went through various treatments, including “therapy, medication, and constant adjustments.”
“Finding care through limited resources, systemic barriers, and the realities of navigating mental health crises as a young Black man made his path all the more steep. A mental health episode in 2021 would result in Donny being Baker-acted, and he was temporarily barred from purchasing a firearm,” the family continued.
Florida’s Baker Act allows doctors and mental health practitioners to detain and involuntarily commit individuals to a mental health facility for up to 72 hours if they find evidence of violent or suicidal behavior associated with mental health conditions.
Shortly after, Donovan began working with the Henderson Clinic and a private psychiatrist, which “became a lifeline.”
Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer was described as a ‘radiant child’
Image credits: GoFundMe
“With their support, Donny began to heal, earning an IT certificate and joining the team at Office Depot in Coral Springs, where he was quickly promoted. After years of challenges, he was beginning to carve out a sense of independence and a future he could believe in,” the family shared.
However, he relapsed. And last month, when his Risk Protection Order lapsed, Donovan purchased a handgun at a local gun shop.
“A week later, he would use that same handgun to take his own life in our family home,” the family said.
“Donny’s passing is a heartbreaking reminder of the mental health crisis plaguing our youth and the lasting trauma of gun violence on our community. As we grieve his loss, we are breaking the code of silence in his memory,” they said, vowing that part of the GoFundMe would be donated to the Henderson Clinic.
According to the 2013 data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death overall in the United States, double that of homicides. The majority of suicides worldwide are related to mental health disorders, including depression, substance use, and psychosis, according to Mental Health America.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.