Second Parkland mass-shooting survivor kills self

MIAMI — A student at the Florida high school where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting last year apparently took his own life Saturday, police said. It was the second apparent suicide in a week involving a student survivor of the shooting in Parkland, a community still reeling from the aftermath of the massacre.

Officers in Coral Springs, Florida, responded Saturday night to the apparent suicide of a minor who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a police spokesman confirmed Sunday. Officer Tyler Reik said the death was still under investigation.

Ryan Petty, who lost his daughter Alaina during the massacre on Feb. 14, 2018, said the child who died Saturday was a 16-year-old boy. Petty alluded to the boy’s death in a Twitter post late Saturday, in which he wrote ‘‘17+2’’ with an emoji of a broken heart.

“What we feared could happen is happening,” Petty said in an interview.

The foundation that he created in his daughter’s memory held an event in May trying to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

Sydney Aiello, 19, a recent Stoneman Douglas graduate, took her own life last weekend, her mother, Cara Aiello, told the local CBS television affiliate. The mother told the station that her daughter had received a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and suffered from survivor’s guilt after the shooting, in which one of her best friends, Meadow Pollack, had died.

News of Sydney Aiello’s death spread quickly, drawing tens of thousands of dollars to a webpage for donations for the young woman’s funeral and memorial. It also started a discussion in Parkland — more than a year after the shooting — about preventing suicide and offering long-term resources to young people who have continued to struggle to cope with their trauma and loss.

Public officials planned to meet Sunday afternoon to discuss a unified effort to assist children and families in light of the two apparent suicides.

Sunday was the anniversary of the March For Our Lives that students organized around the world to rally against gun violence following the horror in Parkland.

Locally, if you need help, contact the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-221-5445; the Teen Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-294-3300; or the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255/TALK (or 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish speakers). To reach someone at Ohio’s 24/7 Crisis Text Line, send 4HOPE to 741741.