Thread: Teacher Commits Suicide in Classroom

http://www.wgal.com/news/7117029/detail.html

Why does it seem like all of this violence occurs around York? In my district our principal was shot and killed inside the Jr. High about three years ago and last year we had an incident where a student stabbed another student. STOP THE VIOLENCE! West York is only about 20 minutes away from my district and are in the same league for sports, so I know a lot of the kids who went there. People are pretty shaken up over it, and rightfully so. I just can't believe he chose to do it at school. I feel bad for the kids that found him.

"The teacher apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."

No one else in the school was able to hear the gunshot and lock the classroom before students arrived???

That's terrible - I feel the same way for the kids that found the teacher. No matter who it is, it's terrible when someone takes their own life, no matter how. My dad took his own life.

That is sad, both the teacher and the students that found him. Sad ordeal.

Insane.. Wow I could not imagine how that would be..

How would you report that?

Go to the office.. Uhh hey.. My teacher is dead?

"ryanmurphy" wrote:

"The teacher apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."

No one else in the school was able to hear the gunshot and lock the classroom before students arrived???

The original thought was that he'd killed himself before classes started, but now they're saying he stayed after school the day prior and had done it overnight when no one was around.

It's a pretty sad ordeal. The kids are saying he was a well liked teacher. I feel bad for everyone involved.

Wow, that's terrible. I've always believed that suicide is the ultimate selfish act. Poor kids...

"MrGopher16" wrote:

Wow, that's terrible. I've always believed that suicide is the ultimate selfish act.

I am not mad at all at you for saying that, MrGopher, but let me tell you a little story...(WARNING - A LITTLE GRAPHIC)

A lot of people think that, but believe me, when my Dad took his own life, I know the pain and anguish he was feeling. He felt like a complete failure, to himself, his wife and to his kids. He had been both a successful farmer and owned the local drugstore. He was a farmer first and graduated from Pharmacy school in North Dakota State. In the mid-80's, he was approaching 60, and the getting up at 5:00 in the morning, feeding the cattle and doing all the chores, then going into the drugstore and working there until 5:00, then coming home and working on the farm again until 10:00 at night, was taking a huge toll on him. We never knew it, but he was hooked on Valium for the longest time (being a pharmacist, you get easy access to many a drug), and had been depressed as well. I am just like him.

Anyway, in the mid to late 80's, he had to give up farming for good. It was really hard on him, because he had been doing it all his life; he grew up on a farm with 11 brothers and sisters (I had 10 brothers and sisters). So, he had to concentrate on being a pharmacist. After a couple years, he had to quit that and sell the store, too. He tried to retire, but it was not like him to sit around and do nothing all day. He got more depressed and felt more and more like a failure.

Finally, on a cold November day in 1992, he tried to take his own life by pouring gasoline on himself and lighting himself on fire, in his own home. My mother was out at the time, and she came home and found him in the kitchen, terribly burned. The house had some light fire damage, and smelled of smoke, but he took the worst of it. He died a few days later in the St. Paul Burn Unit. He was so wrapped in gauze, the only thing that showed were his fingertips, his nose, mouth and his eyes.

I remember those couple days after it happened as being the most gray, awful days of my life. I still miss him all the time and think about him all the time. You sit and wonder things like "Could I have done something to prevent this from happening? I should have known!", things like that. But you know what? The morning he died (Nov. 10th, 1992), was the most beautiful, sun-shining day I can remember in a long time, before or since. I truly believe that there was nothing we could have done or said to prevent what he did. I just feel so much better now that he is not suffering and feeling like he did anymore.

And you know what else? My Mom still lives in that same house today. And he is buried at the Catholic Church in Braham, MN, that he helped found. So life goes on, and it does get better...

So now you know another side of suicide you might not have known about...

Sorry to hear about your father Shock. I couldn't imagine losing my father to a suicide.. On another note. I had broke my neck in a auto accident in Nov. 2001. At the time I was 23 yrs old, and I had my whole life ahead of me.. To go through such a trying time in your life, it takes it 's toll.. I was actually working at the time the accident happened. I was a delivery driver, I was going back to my warehouse, and a kid pulled out in front of me on the highway.. The funny thing about it is, I was the first car in line on the highway, and he stood at the intersection for what seemed like the longest time.


As I approached the intersection, he pulled out. Now I was in a Econoline van, and he was in a little car. The only thing that I had time to do was, turn my wheel just a liitle bit. Luckily for him, I did. Otherwise he would have been killed on the spot. I hit his car, my passenger side, both wheels went over the hood of his car, and I went sideways across the highway. Now let me remind you, that it was in Nov. No Snow or Ice was on the ground at the time. I was extremely lucky. I didn't have a seatbelt on, when I hit him by airbag exploded, and that is the only thing that kept me from going through the winshield..


My van landed 47 feet into the ditch where I sat. I remember seeing smoke, I thought the van was on fire. I was like in a state of shock. I opened the door, I went to get out, and I couldn't move. I fell straight down. I just remember hearing the ambulance. Then all of these people were around me. I remember a lady asked me if she could go into my wallet to see who I was.. The kid that pulled out in front me was 19 yrs old, was driving his parents vehicle, and was driving drunk. I was actually partly paralyzed for over 11 hours.. I had 3 disc fused in my neck. The force of the accident through me in the air, and I hit a metal canaster behind my seat, that stored packaging envelopes.

Long story short. After going through something like this you tend to go through a stage of depression.. I actually tried to committ suicide once. I overdosed on my pain pills. Luckily for me my girlfriend at the time came home sick from work about 4 hours before she normally got home.. I was rushed to the hospital, and had my stomach pumped. I spent 5 days in a psyhciatric hospital for observation. I was asked many times why I tried to kill myself. I told them because I wasn't the same person I was before this accident. They said alot of people go through that after a major trauma in their life. I ended up hurting myself in the long run. Here I sat recovering from a major neck operation, and had no pain pills..

So if anyone on this site has ever thought about committing suicide, Don't. It truly is a selfish act. I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but you leave behind your family, and for me, I would have left behind a 2 yo child.. I think about how stupid I was, and how bad it would have been if my girlfriend wouldn't have come home sick.. God was on my side that day. I thank him for that each and every day that I wake up..

Wow, that's a tough story... I'm glad you're here today to tell it! Do you have any effects of the accident still today?