If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or in crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org, or contact your local emergency services.
Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, died last week at age 26, his family said on Facebook and GoFundMe.
According to the family, Metayer committed suicide after a yearslong battle with schizophrenia.
Family members said the trauma of the massacre that left 17 dead - including 14 of his classmates - "lingered long after graduation and profoundly altered the course of his life."
"In the months that followed, Donny began to withdraw," they said. "Depression, guilt, emotional instability, and long periods of isolation replaced the vibrant young man we once knew.
"Though he had dreamt of college and a future in computer science, his worsening mental health made those dreams difficult to reach."
Family members said a "risk protection order" expired this month, which allowed Metayer to purchase a handgun he would use "to take his own life in our family home" on Dec. 15.
"Donny's passing is a heartbreaking reminder of the mental health crisis plaguing our youth and the lasting trauma of gun violence on our community," family members said. "As we grieve his loss, we are breaking the code of silence in his memory. Though Donny's life was brief, his impact will be everlasting."
The family created a GoFundMe page to raise money "to assist our family with the celebration of life services and to endow a fund at the Henderson Clinic."
Henderson Clinic, a behavior health facility in Broward County, and a private psychiatrist "became a lifeline ... offering guidance, compassion and hope for his future."
"In lieu of calls, messages, or flowers, I invite you, if you are able, to consider a donation of any amount to support this effort," Nancy Metayer Bowen, Metayer's older sister, wrote on Facebook.
"Thank you for holding our family in your thoughts and for honoring Donovan's memory with such grace, compassion, and love."
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