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Attempted Teen Suicide at School Raises Questions About Police Procedure and Social Media

Posted byHoumanitarian
Warning Signs of Suicide Attempt All Over Student’s Social Media
(KRIV 26 News)

Erin Mulvaney, Houston Chronicle
The 17-year-old North Shore High School student had threatened to harm himself Wednesday morning and deputies just wanted to take him somewhere he could be safe. But an apparent incomplete search of the teen, who was then handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, would somehow allow the boy to shoot himself in the back of the head.

In the moving Harris County Constable Precinct 3 car and with his hands cuffed behind his back, he had retrieved a “hidden gun” under his shirt, school and police officials said, then shot himself. He was in critical condition later Wednesday at Ben Taub General Hospital. Officials at the constable’s office are investigating the incident, including the search. Whether a “proper search” was conducted was not clear, said Capt. Jon Moore with Precinct 3.

Precinct 3 deputies, who provide security for the high school, were called to the school around 10:30 a.m. after a concerned friend had reported that the student said via text that he planned to hurt himself, said Jonathan Frey, spokesman for Galena Park Independent School District.

The student was found in the west side of the building and would not cooperate with officers, Moore said.
When deputies searched the teen, no gun was found on him, Moore said.

Moore said whether the student shot himself intentionally was unclear. Neither Frey nor the constable’s office could explain how the student managed to retrieve the gun. “He might have had it hidden really well,” Frey said.

The student was conscious when taken to the hospital, the spokesman said. A baseball player and well-known senior at the school, posted a series of messages on his Twitter account around 10 a.m., such as “You say you can’t live like this ill [sic] make it easy for you after today!”, “Bye guys” and finally “Ima [sic] make it easier after this period.”
(Read more of the story at Chron.com)

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