KHQ.COM: On Thursday morning a depressed North Dakota freshman, walked up in front of his class, made an apology, and then shot himself with a hand gun in front of everyone.
It is unclear what his apology was about and according to the school principal, the boy was not in trouble for anything before the incident occurred. The boy was coherent when he was taken to the hospital according to Richland County Authorities.
The boy's name has not been released but he attended Fairmont Public School which has 112 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. He has lived in the small rural community with a population of only 380 his entire life and has attended the school since kindergarten.
The school went into lockdown just after 8:40 a.m. and school was canceled for the day. A teacher at the school provided first-aid to the boy until paramedics arrived.
Depression is the most common mental health disorder in the United States and according to teendepression.com, 20% of teens will experience depression before adulthood and 15% of those teens experiencing depression will develop bipolar disorder.
Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, which is the third leading cause of death among teens.
Parents who have teenagers should always seek help for their teen if they notice depression symptoms developing and it is so important to talk to kids of all ages about the harmful effects bullying can have and how to stand up to bullies in school.
Do you feel parents and teachers are doing what they need to combat bullying in schools?
What role can we all play to stop bullying?
This story was filed and written by KHQ's Nichole Mischke
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