Normal Version Print Version	Share |

Teenage Suicide on the Rise in Nevada

With the self-inflicted gunshot death of ten year old Kameron Asgari and the attempted suicide by a thirteen year old girl, local residents are concerned with what could be a tragic trend in Las Vegas. There is no evidence that the two shootings are related, but locals are worried that the problem with teenage suicide could be in their own backyard.

 Metropolitan Police Department's Abuse and Neglect Detail supervisor Lisa Teele said Wednesday afternoon that the shooting was neither an accident nor a suicide and that adults were home at the time of the tragedy. Teele also stated that Kameron is said to have found the “unsecured” weapon he used on himself but could give no further details on the case, since it is still an ongoing investigation. "I urge our community to be diligent in securing their weapons, especially around children," Teele said. "It can happen really, really quickly. One loss is too many." This morning, Metro spokesman Jacinto Rivera said the death is now being considered a suicide and that it is the youngest age they have heard of someone taking their own life.

Asgari was a fifth grade student that attended Jydstrup Elementary School and there is worry about the effects that his death will have on his fellow students. David Roddy, from the Clark County School District, said that a crisis intervention team is being sent to the school this week to help Asgari’s classmates with the possible fallout that his death will have on the students when they return to school; Wednesday was a school holiday for students and they are returning to class today.

The incident with the thirteen year old girl is still under investigation as she still lies in University Medical Center in critical condition. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including how the teenager obtained the gun; Rivera said the incident is being investigated as a suicide attempt as she has made mention of suicide in the past.

 Linda Flatt, a local psychologist, social worker and suicide prevention trainer for the State of Nevada, says that these deaths are a wake-up call. “We need to pay more attention to everything that we hear; the problem with teenage suicide is worse than people think.” She cited a statistic from the Clark County Coroner's Office, which found that there have been 26 suicides this year involving people under the age of 20.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the number of teen suicides has been increasing in recent years. Since teenage years are among the most difficult years in a person’s life, it is no surprise that the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds - and the fourth leading cause of death among 10 to 14 year olds - is suicide. The pressures on teens in today’s society are far worse than they were ten to fifteen years ago.  Depression is sighted as the leading cause for teenage suicide (as much as 75%) followed by: substance abuse, “cyber-bullying,” changes at home, domestic violence and pressure to do well in school. The huge popularity of social networking has created a more intense form of peer pressure, especially with how glamorous suicide death pacts have become.