Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, died at the age of 26. His family reported that he died by suicide after a prolonged struggle with mental health issues that began shortly after the armed attack that left 17 dead.

Metayer was a senior in high school when gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire inside the school. According to his family, the emotional impact of that event profoundly altered the course of his life.

Diagnosis and difficulties accessing medical care

After the shooting, Metayer began to isolate himself and exhibit symptoms that were later diagnosed as schizophrenia. For several years, he was hospitalized multiple times for mental health crises and suicidal thoughts, according to his family.

In 2021, he received treatment under Florida's Baker Act, which allows for involuntary detention for emergency psychiatric evaluations.

This measure also entailed a temporary restriction on the purchase of firearms through a protective order.

His family members noted that facing the mental health system, coupled with structural barriers and economic limitations, hindered his recovery process.

A Period of Recovery and New Projects

Subsequently, Metayer began treatment at the Henderson Clinic and with a private psychiatrist, a process his family described as crucial to his stabilization. During that period, he obtained an information technology certification and began working at an Office Depot store in Coral Springs, where he was promoted.

“He was beginning to build a future he could believe in,” his family expressed in a fundraising campaign.

A Call to Action on Mental Health and Gun Violence

Earlier this month, after his protective order expired,Metayer legally acquired a firearm. Days later, he died at his family home, according to his relatives. The family created a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses and establish a support fund at the Henderson Clinic. To date, the initiative has raised over $22,000. “Donovan’s passing is a painful reminder of the lasting trauma of gun violence and the mental health crisis affecting so many young people,” they stated.