PARKLAND, Fla. — Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, died by suicide Monday at age 26 after a long struggle with mental health challenges.
Metayer, a senior at the school when a gunman killed 17 people and injured 18 others, battled schizophrenia, depression, guilt, and emotional instability for years, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family. He faced long periods of isolation and frequent hospitalizations for suicidal ideation.
“The trauma of that day and the loss of classmates lingered long after graduation and profoundly altered the course of his life,” the GoFundMe page reads. Metayer’s family noted the additional challenges of navigating mental health care as a young Black man, including limited resources and systemic barriers.
In his honor, Metayer’s family is establishing a mental health fund, which has already raised more than $17,000. Fellow Parkland survivor and congressional candidate Cameron Kasky shared the fund on social media.
Metayer is not the first Parkland survivor to die by suicide years after the shooting. In 2019, Sydney Aiello and another unnamed survivor also died within the same week.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 394 mass shootings have occurred so far this year, resulting in 987 teens killed and 2,668 injured. In 2024, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis.
Metayer’s family hopes the mental health fund will help others navigating similar struggles and honor his memory.
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