Edmond Mother: Recent Teen Suicides Should Serve As Wakeup Call

Four teen boys committed suicide in the last two weeks. Their deaths have people across the metro taking notice.

1/30/2012 Related Story: Edmond Community Bands Together After Spike In Teen Suicides

For Tracy Neely, the three recent suicides in Edmond, followed by one in Hinton, are just a painful reminder of losing her son four years ago.

2/2/2012 Related Story: Young Boy's Suicide Shocks Hinton Residents

Neely said the recent deaths should serve as wakeup call. One out of every ten teenagers will attempt to take their life. Statistically, boys are more successful.

Neely's 15-year-old son Andrew was a popular 9th grader at Santé Fe High School in Edmond. Neely said they were close. She talked to him 15 minutes before discovering his body.

"He hid it and I never asked him up front. I expected him to come to me or his counselor to deal with it. Parents need to be more proactive," Neely said.

After the death, Neely discovered notebooks with sad poems and cries for help.

What Neely assumed was normal teenage stuff was Andrew reacting to breaking up with a girlfriend. Statistics show more than half of teens who commit suicide are reacting to a traumatic event that happened in the last two weeks.

Edmond Memorial High is hosting a meeting at 7 p.m. on February 13 to talk about suicide and prevention.

Click here for more information on free counseling services or prevention.