Neighbors in shock over child suicide in West Jordan

WEST JORDAN — It's a tragedy that has left a neighborhood in shock.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," said Wendy Jensen. "Our hearts go out to the family."

On Wednesday, a 9-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. West Jordan police determined the cause of death was suicide.

In an unrelated incident, a 15-year-old boy in Manti committed suicide the same day as did his 21-year-old brother.

The incidents have left the families of the victims with unspeakable grief. In the case of the 9-year-old in particular, it has those who have heard about the sad event stunned and questioning why a young child would be compelled to take his own life, and what can be done to prevent another child from repeating that course of action.

Mental health experts and psychiatrists say suicide among juveniles in Utah is rare and adolescent suicide is even rarer. But the latest incidents have experts reminding the public that there is treatment and help available for those at risk.

The 9-year-old boy was a fourth-grade student at Westvale Elementary School. A crisis team from the Jordan School District was at the school Wednesday and Thursday and accompanied the fourth-grade students on a field trip Thursday that was scheduled prior to the tragedy, according to district officials.

In the boy's neighborhood, several residents told the Deseret News that they were aware of the tragedy, but unaware of the circumstances. At least one resident had heard the boy may have been distressed because he had gotten in trouble at school that day. West Jordan police said they could not comment on the case as it was still under investigation.

In the boy's obituary, family members wrote, "As parents, tell your children you love them every day." To their son, the family wrote, "we love you and you will always be in our hearts."

Adults sometimes forget that an issue that may seem inconsequential to them may be devastating to a child, said neighbor Troy Jensen, who was heartbroken by the news although he did not know the boy's family.

Jensen said his own son once got in trouble at school for something relatively minor. But it was an issue that greatly concerned his son.

"They don't want to disappoint their parents," he said. "Something really mediocre to us is devastating to a child."