9-year-old reportedly kills himself 2 years after mother’s suicide

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    ST. CLAIR COUNTY, IL (KMOV) — An investigation is underway after a 9-year-old boy reportedly killed himself in the Metro East.

The St. Clair County Coroner’s Office confirmed the boy died from an apparent hanging in a Brooklyn, Illinois apartment.

As word spread through the Thomas Terry apartment complex about the boy’s death, dozens of neighbors came out of their homes to console each other.

Many were hugging and crying.

They tried to console the boy’s father as he walked around the complex, seemingly in shock, dealing with the loss.

“I’m still trying to take in what’s happening, get the particulars, because I don’t know everything,” said E.J. Johnson, the boy’s great uncle.

Police on the scene said they are looking at the suicide as a possible result of bullying, but it was early in the investigation.

Research from the CDC showed in 2007, suicides among children age 10 to 14 were declining.

Then, over the next decade, the numbers nearly tripled. Now, suicide is one of the leading causes of death for children in that age range, thanks in part to social media increasing bullying’s prevalence.

It’s easier, it’s meaner and there are fewer consequences for the bullying because it can be done in private,” said Jessie Vance, a child counselor with Provident Crisis Services.

The family told News 4 the boy’s mother committed suicide two years ago.

Vance said if a parents dies by suicide, their children are 50% more likely to die by suicide.

“We talk to the children about their intrinsic value and how just because they’re here, that gives them purpose and we want them to stay here,” Vance said. “Then we talk to them about how any sort of human experience they’re going through, they are not alone and we want to support them through this.”

Johnson, who said he’s a football and track coach in East St. Louis and has worked with young people for years, said he was unaware if his great-nephew was a bullying victim. He said he hadn’t seen much bullying around him, but he knows it’s there.

“We need to just talk to our kids,” he said. “That’s what happening now we’re not talking to our kids.”

There are resources available for those with suicidal thoughts or who feel a friend or loved one may be at risk.

Provident Behavioral Health has a walk-in clinic Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For $5 you can get an appointment.

Anyone who is considering suicide or is having suicidal thoughts can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

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