Authorities in Milwaukee are investigating the apparent suicide of a 10-year-old boy Saturday night, according to a report on WTMJ-TV, an NBC affiliate in Wisconsin.
The child's mother called 911 after finding him unresponsive in their home near 7th and Chambers on Milwaukee's north side, the station reported.
The Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, but told the station it appears the boy took his own life.
Read the original story on Today's TMJ 4


Lets all wish that family nothing but Highest Good for this day and every day after. My condolences.
What mental retard writes these articles, who, what, why, family background, race, gender, health, parents, socio-economic background all left out, there is nothing in the article to even examine .
Name calling is exactly the type of bullying I talk with my 4th grade students about. Couldn't you have left off the rude words and just asked your question?
saxon,
are you familiar with the concept of breaking news?
Saxon
Just keep reading the comments. These 'facts' will spring up spontaneously without any information needed in the article at all! LOL LMAO
"...bullying I talk with my 4th grade students about"
Maybe we should start before so many drop out.
Saxon, none of the garbage you mentioned is relevant. What IS important is a family lost their angel. Sympathy should be extended.
Lol, ya gotta read between the lines Saxon!
There is NOTHING in the original story that says "suicide."
Once again, msnbc is creating news, not reporting it!
Agreed, ElkMeadow. At this point all anyone knows, other than, perhaps, the police, mother and medical attendees, is that a 10 year old child has died. . .a sad and tragic event all by itself and without the sensational headline added for effect. R.I.P. Sweet Angel.
Softdude beat me to it. Brilliantly played.
my condolences. I hope it wasn't another case of some wanker bullying him for being gay.
Saxon has a point. No facts whatsoever in the story except a 10 year old died. NBC is just trying to get out the sensationalism first. No reason why, if they wanted to carry the story at all, that they couldn't have waited a day.
Someone wanna show me where in the article anything was mentioned about bullying?
Texana Deb is correct. How about we show compassion for the families loss, instead of turning this tragedy into a forum of unrelated B.S.? Nothing that Saxon is looking for even matters but there is always someone wanting to judge.
Have to agree with you, Smitty. Saxon and all others commenting on the lack of detail: First of all, the victim is a minor. Secondly, it happened last night and is still under investigation, so of course the name and some of the info couldn't be released. They chose to report on it because it is breaking news, and there has been a large media focus lately on child/teen suicides. My prayers and condolences go out to the boy's family.
actually, saxon has a point, at least s/he is looking for some answers before jumping to conclusions, like most so far on this board.
WoW! Only 10 years old. Why would he do that? Had his whole life ahead of him! Must have been bullied at school.
Gee Bob, what insight! Where is any evidence? Who knows, if he actually DID commit suicide, maybe he was being abused at home, maybe he was being sexually assaulted by his dad, maybe the color of his underwear bothered him. Yeah that's it, let's make wild guesses and spread them around!
The article states that they think the child took his/her own life. This is another term for siucide.
Race, etc, etc is totally irrelevant. This is a child. What sort of society are we when a child committing suicide is reason for argument!!!
God be with the family at this dark hour
Hey Pat,
that last line, "but told the station it appears the boy took his own life" was added over an hour after the headline declared it to be suicide. The article also says they are investigating the circumstances, so nothing definitive yet. Personally, I'll wait for facts before I make any judgements.
Saxon's point may be a good one, however his use of the words "mental retard" just shows his own mentality.
Watch what you say when you make a point, dude. Peoples' use of certain words on ere tend to offend others...so please just TRY be a bit more conscientious.
Like some others have mentioned, despite his rude and uncalled for delivery, Saxon does have a point. I know that this is a breaking story, but the lack of details bothers me. What would make a ten-year-old child take his own life? Bullying? Antidepressants? Abuse at home or elsewhere? Some other temporary situation that he thought he could never overcome? Or could it have been a murder disguised as a suicide?
No matter the reason, this is a tragic story, and my condolences go out to the family and friends of this boy.
"God be with the family at this dark hour"
And what if his family was abusing him that caused his death. Do you still want God to be with them?
Everyone needs to wait for some concrete FACTS and EVIDENCE before making stupid comments.
A Wisconsin union teacher probably told him there was no Santa.
Tomorrowsnews - It's newsworthy because this is a ten-year-old child. An elementary school kid. I was extremely intelligent in grade school, and I don't think I knew what suicide was when I was ten. It's not saying that the other suicides are less important - they're just as tragic - but we need to figure out what's going on in this situation. It's extremely abnormal for a young child to take their own life.
A Wisconsin union teacher probably told him there will be no public school in the future......no art or music classes, no sports, no eating lunch with friends..........because of the Republicraps. It's enough to make grown men commit suicide.
Megidolaon..........So, you were smart and didn't know what suicide was when you were ten. Good for you. You probably weren't depressed, and you probably hadn't been sexually abused and you probably hadn't been bullied. All good for you. But your life has nothing to do with this poor child and his life experiences. And young suicides are not abnormal. Do some reading.
sosick's right...i was 13 when i tried to kill myself...heard that a bottle of aspirin could kill you and i was depressed at the time, i just wanted to die. so i did it. wound up getting my stomach pumped at the hospital and a 3 month stay in a kids' psych ward...to this day, i still don't understand why i did it, but i was depressed as hell...and for the longest time. i guess mostly because i didn't belong anywhere cuz i couldn't communicate with people and was ostracized as a kid growing up. born deaf, see.
Public sector unions will make taxpayers commit suicide
a
lee.............Public sector unions will make taxpayers commit suicide? Can we count on you to be one of the first?
awful young to carry heavy emotional duress..a Sad Event, condolences..........
SoSick - On the contrary, I suffered from severe panic disorder when I was ten years old (almost had to be home-schooled because I spent more time in the nurse's office than the classroom), and I was bullied mercilessly because I was poor. Fortunately, I suffered no abuse at home, but my life was definitely not flowers and kittens at that age. However, it never crossed my mind to end my life until depression took hold in my early teens (there's a world of difference in knowledge between a ten-year-old and a teenager).
I've battled depression and anxiety for twenty years, and I still am. I know what it feels like. I'm simply saying that I'm surprised by someone so young resorting to suicide.
Meg......And I repeat. Young suicides are not abnormal. Not rare. Not unheard of. So, don't be so surprised. Because it never crossed your mind at an early age is not a sign that it crosses no one's.
They are, however, extremely hard to deal with, and extremely saddening.
This child must have been hurting so bad inside, and maybe we should have the thought that maybe he was depressed unable to cope with life, maybe he felt unloved or loved this family so much that he did not want to upset them, only this 10 year old and God knows, my prayers are with his thoughts before this child chose to do this, i hope prayed he to god as he did this. I will pray for this child and his family. We are humans and we all know it's not easy sometimes. He will be in my prayers forever. I am so sorry for the family!
SoSick - Sorry for any confusion - I was referring to twenty years ago when I was ten years old. Child (pre-teen) suicides were unheard of back then. I agree that they're (sadly) much more common now. I wonder why. Is it all the access to information (the internet) that children have today that we (I) didn't back in my childhood? So many questions. But any suicide is a tragedy - especially one where the person has so many years ahead of them.
SoSickoftheGop
I'm so sick of retards like you trying to make every story into a political attack. Sheezzz a 10 year old kills himself and you use it to criticize the GOP. Get a life.
The truth hurts, doesn't it. I was being sarcastic and I admit that was not respectful of the sadness that is attached to this incident. See my other comments.
Sad that MSNBC would even all comments to be made on this news. The death of a child should not be open for comment. Saxon you constantly complain about the reporting on this site yet you continue to read it. WHY? Are you a FOX schill?
Because of Walker and the Republican'ts, this year there won't be.
A child died in my neighborhood from hanging himself. The kids play "the hanging game" to see how far they can go and still survive, which results in a "high" when the blood rushes back to the brain. Sometimes they go too far. This may be the case here. Tragic.
Ed - That's his username. It remains the same no matter what article you comment on. He hasn't made any political comments in this thread.
We cannot assume it was a suicide anymore than we can assume he was bullied or gay. It may have been a case of self-asphyxiation to get a high. A lot of kids are doing it and a lot of kids are dying from it too.
LoL..True but some times you can google a headline from here and find more info some where else.
The video that came with the original story stated that the Coroner said it looked like the child took his own life.
But it doesn't say if it was accidental either. Sad fact is, the young boy is dead and sadly nobody stopped it. I agree it really shouldn't be news but the loss of one child, brings awareness for us parents to keep an eye on our children.
Sympathy should be extended.
sosickofthegop, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Also a little reminder to stay on topic, folks.
sosickofgop. suicide under 14 is rare http://www.aamentalhealth.org/SCHOOLPERSONNEL_000.pdf.pdf
Why would you post something that you decide on gut feeling is correct rather than do a little research?
Where? It certainly hasn't been on msnbc. And with such scant details on this article it wouldn't surprise me because if there were any fewer details, this would have been a non-report.
Why does anyone do it at any age? People have their personal reasons and age can be irrelevant to their reasoning.
Actually his whole life is behind him. All he had ahead of him was expectations and desires. There never was a guarantee for a minimum number of years for anybody.
Another child bullied at school, under the uncaring teachers noses who "don't notice", and who goes home to parents who can't see the hurt. Nothing new here.
"The Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death."
There you go again tompca, jumping to conclusions. There is absolutely nothing so far to support your allegations of the child being bullied. So before you start condemning the schools & the poor, mourning parents, what say we wait to hear the outcome of the investigation?
@tompca - Have you ever been a teacher? Do you know what it's like to manage 34 nine-year-olds in a classroom? I deal with issues like this on a daily basis. Kids are sneaky with their bullying and those being bullied are too afraid to tell. Before you blame others, stop to think.
When I was 9 years old in school the teacher got the upmost repsect. But then again, they had and used a paddle back then. One hangs in every room and I never failed to take notice of that fact as I sat my axx down and shut up.
Bring back the paddles is my suggestion.
3rdpartyadvocate, back then the paddle was also used as a threat to keep bright students from working ahead in their studies, for "showing off" by knowing more than the teacher's pet, and for "being uppity" by bringing in facts to the class and knowing more than the teacher about geography or math.
I was one of those "uppity" students.
And I suspect that one of my teachers got his sexual jollies by using the paddle.
Your suggestion to bring back the paddle is damnable.
From "10 year old commits suicide" to "bring back the paddles!" Wow.
Stick to your agenda, whatever the topic, eh, 3rdparty?
Wah, wah it's just so hard to be a teacher!! Wahhhhh!.
Wanna show me where in the article anything was mentioned about bullying?
Dog_Blue, let me explain.
Take 30 kids of varying abilities, needs, intellectual capacity, economic background, social background and parental support/involvement; put them in your living room, teach them math, science, history, english so they can be tested to pass a state exam by the end of the year. Oh, yeah, make sure they are kind to each other, treat each other fairly, learn good citizenship, have had breakfast, have lunch and somwhere to go at the end of the day. By the way, how much you get paid is based on how well they perform on the test.
This, Dog_Blue is what American Society is asking of Teachers today being paid similarly as soldiers, policemen and firemen. I love being a teacher, but your complete lack of compassion is staggering. Which teacher hurt you during your schooling?
Walk a mile in someone else's shoes for once before you open your mouth. The death of a youngster is horrendous, regardless the circumstances.
@havelinaz
Well said.
Here we go - More "bullying is out of control" garbage. The problem isn't bullying. You're never going to get kids to stop bullying. We were all bullied (most of us are guilty of doing it ourselves), our grandparents were bullied, and our great grandchildren will all be bullied.
The problem is the self esteem movement. We've been telling kids how much better they are than everyone else at everything for so long, they can't cope with criticism, they can't handle loss, and they are such emotional weaklings that they can't even handle getting picked on every once-in-a-while!
Smeado the bullying of today goes far beyond just being picked on. Harassment is harassment. Not long ago I read an article of a child choking another child till they could not breathe! Letting bullies get away with their behavior sends the message they can do what they want reguardless of who they hurt. There are some kids who are bullied every single day by the same kids. They are beat up, insulted, stolen from, etc. But hey they're just kids all kids bully or are bullied s'all good right? Nevermind what doctor and therapist bills the parents of said bullied child may have to pay right? Nevermind the parents having to pay to replace whatever items the bully stole or destroyed.
There are adult bullies as well who end up charged with assault and battery for hurting another person. Guess nobody taught them the consequences while they were young of their actions.
Smeado..............Most of us were guilty of bulllying ourselves? I think not. Just because you did it, don't paint the rest of us with the same dirty brush.
@havelinaz
Don't pay attention to Dog_blue. They are typical of what is wrong with this country. They are also bullies but can only do it on the internet because they don't have the stones to do it on real life. They're just another impotent sissy trying to be much bigger then what they actually are. I would pity them but to be honest, they don't deserve my or anybody else's pity.
Such a shame. A ten year old boy is dead. A family is left with a fracture which will never heal and people are arguing about semantics. It is extremely difficult to be a good teacher. It is extremely difficult to be a good parent. It is more difficult than ever due, in many cases to an increasingly technological society that does not encourage face to face communication. Being a child has always been difficult but, being a child (or an adult for that matter) that "stands out" and does not "fit into" the social culture, it is heartbreaking. Not everyone can withstand the emotional and often physical assaults levelled at them on a daily basis by a system that demands conformity.
How many times do we have to feel the pain and suffering of a school child, before we take the responsibility of putting ourselves between the bullies and the picked on?
havelinaz:
How is that any different from what we asked of teachers yesterday? The fact that we asked so much of teachers, and they came through for us, is why they used to enjoy such respect.
Get out of the profession if you feel so put upon. Your resentment can't be good for the kids.
my question is this: How do we go from the tragedy of a young child, to the difficulties adults face? And why does it matter what this poor child did or did not do or receive, or how exactly he died? Let's face facts people...this angel is gone, we cannot bring him back respect him enough to post your sympathys and stay off the soapbox of what is wrong with society...
Condolences to the family of this child, I can't imagine the pain that you must be going through.
To the posters here worked up about "bullying", a couple of weeks ago I got a call from my daughters' principal [she's 7]. She informed me that there had been an "incident". My girl had clawed a boy across the face because he had "grabbed her in her private area".
A little history here, my daughter had come to me some weeks before and complained to me of a boy that was "grabbing my arm and hurting me". I told her that she didn't have to put up with anyone doing anything like that and she had my permission to hit back if that boy, or anyone else, wouldn't stop hurting her. She apparently took my advice to heart.
The principal further informed me that my daughter was not in trouble, they had experienced problems with this boy before, but, would I tell my daughter not to do that anymore.
I told her "No,I will not. I raise my children to to stand up for themselves and to defend themselves when necessary" In my opinion my kids have every right to defend themselves against bullies.
Come to find out, even though teachers had been told of this boys' behavior, nothing had been done to discourage him to that point. My child wasn't the only one to have been assaulted by this boy.
I'll be willing to bet he doesn't try it again.
People, we cannot always be around to defend our children against the bullies of this world. Teach your kids that it's OK to defend themselves, and back them up when they do. Bullies prey on the weak, because they are weak and scared themselves. When faced with a dose of their own medicine they invariably back off and look for weaker prey. It's lesson we all should learn at an early age, along with "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". [In regards to so called "cyber-bullying"]
Not that there was anything in this article [if you can call it that] that says this had anything to do with bullying.
edster
What a ridiculous story. If you are going to make a story up just to fill white space and boost your ego, don't use phrases like, "Come to find out." It makes you sound like you are a wannabe novelist.
Had a friend who used "Come to find out" a lot...Southern background, you see. BigJeff, relax. Maybe it's true and our friend was just in command of a lot of words.
We don't know if it was suicide, nor do we know anything else we need to know to make judgments let alone comments. Be of good heart, people
Tompca, you're an idiot. Where do you see anything that would substantiate that comment? Why not just keep your mouth shut so you don't look like a complete fool. You come across like someone who has a grudge against higher (or any) education.
I've had to handle suicides of children and there are more reasons then your tiny brain could possibly fathom. Why not just wish the family the strenght to get through this sad event.
Sorry, gotta agree with Smeado. Kids today are pampered little brats with skin so thin they're going to break into tears and start looking for a lawyer to sue somebody if anyone even raises thier voice to them. And I fully blame the parents for allowing thier kids to become little marshmellows. This whole mentality that if there is any confrontation of any type that someone must be punished as a result is turning kids into whiney little wimps.
Sticks and stones...it's true to this day. Teach your kids to have a little backbone. Maybe they will learn a little self respect in the process.
@seriouslynow4227937,
American society is not asking the same today as it was yesterday. The link below shows what 'yesterday's' teacher's were asked to do and by no means is it the same today. I come through for my students every day. I listen to them, see them as individuals, help them with their specific questions, provide positive and constructive criticism, and guide them toward kindness, safety and respect. What has become an undue burden is the sheer volume of asinine paperwork to prove to Administration, parents, Feds, school boards, etc. that I am doing my job well. On top of that to have to provide to the parents proof that I am teaching their children character, providing positive role modelling and ensuring rigor in the curriculum. It is clear you have no idea how many hats I have to wear during the day to accomplish my tasks which take away time from my students.
You must not have read beyond the American Society comment; I love being a teacher.
What have you done for 30 kids today?
http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html
It's great that you go that extra mile for the kids, but the part of your post I copied I did because that should not be your responsibility. Those things should be the parents job, and if they need someone else to teach thier kids character, they should never have become parents in the first place.
@arguesforsport,
You would not believe the huge variety and discrepancy among parents about discipline, role modelling, character and such. I don't know that this 10 year old boy listed in the article was bullied or not. That too, believe it or not is the parent's job; to teach their child how to be kind, respectful and honest. Just read these posts and you will see why we have such a problem in the classroom (and the country). These people are parents? All states have statutes that govern 'Parental Responsibility'. Most are for property damage and vehicular but some include personal injury which these days includes bullying.
http://www.mwl-law.com/CM/Resources/PARENTAL%20RESPONSIBILITY%20CHART%20(00033309).pdf
A student came to me the other day and discussed why she failed the exam. Through that discussion she told me her dad told her to cheat so she could have at least passed the exam.
I digress; It is horrendous, regardless the circumstances, to lose a child.
@havelinaz
I feel for ya. I have a buddy that has shared custody of a nine year old boy. His son is so uncontrollable to the point that he has actually hit his father in anger for being punished, tells him "no" on a daily basis and threatens to "tell on him" if Dad even threatens to smack his bottom (something he has never actually done). The poor guy is scared to death that he will never see his son again if he so much as touches him when he really deserves a good smack.
And before anyone chimes in that I'm horrible for saying a kid deserves a smack, when a child does something purposely, repeatedly, endangering themselves or others, they deserve a smack to get the point across. If the kid knows that all that is coming is a stern talking to and/or a punishment that will go away soon, they lose the fear of consequence.
I can't begin to imagine what it is like for a teacher to deal with kids like this on a daily basis, let alone a classroom full of them. And then to top it all off, the parents want to blame you when thier kid is out of control because you didn't do the parents job for them.
@arguesforsport as I said to smedo todays bullying goes far beyond little confrontations these days, especially in junior and high schools. I know, for I was one of the bullied, and things are even worse now then when I was a child. It's not just silly little fights anymore, some of these kids get downright vicious. They even catch them with weapons from time to time. It's the sad truth that public schools are NOT safe anymore. Sometimes several kids will gang up on a child at once. If things turn physical from there, serious injuries can result... or worse.
How many news stories have you heard about children, especially teenagers, doing something cruel to someone else just for fun? Or hurting an animal for fun? If this kind of behavior isn't stopped early on and they think it's okay to do these things, imagine what kind of adult they will become later on.
Wasn't there a time when it was said boys don't hit girls? They sure as heck do now, and there are adult men who beat their wives as well, who are part of the bullies of the adult community.
I'm 47. There were gangs, weapons, animal mutilations and wife beaters when I was a child too. I got beat by more than one person at a time and have been threatened by and have had weapons used against me before I was 13. But I was taught to defend myself and fight my own battles, so I was never "bullied". There just wasn't any "information superhighway" to make it daily common knowledge on every corner of the globe when those things happened daily.
Difference is, we knew there were consequences to these actions. Today, it's always someone else's fault or someone else's job to fix.
Not everyone is physically or mentally able to stand up for themselves. Everyone is different. Some people are handicapped in some way. Why should these people have to suffer? The point I'm trying to make is that "bullying" is NOT okay, period. That's the very reason that some types of "bullying" are against the law.
Kids need to be taught the difference between right and wrong, and "bullying" is wrong. The same types of behaviors that bullies do as children would get them thrown in jail as an adult.
Stealing lunch money aka mugging
Hitting and kicking aka assault and battery
People might say oh they'll grow out of it. Newflash, not all of them do, in fact some only get worse as they get older.
You just made my point for me. Those things always have happened, always will. Today, parents want the teachers, or the police, or anyone else to get involved and take care of things for them on both ends, the bully and the bullied.
Times were, little Johnny stole little Jimmy's lunch money. Little Jimmy's momma talks to little Johnny's momma and little Johnny's momma smacks him upside the head. Little Johnny does it again and little Johnny's daddy smacks him upside the head. Little Johnny don't steal lunch money no more.
Today, little Johnny steals little Jimmy's lunch money and the police are called. Little Johnny is handcuffed and taken away because we have "zero tolerance" laws. Little Jimmy's parents are suing the school district for "hostile environment" charges and little Johnny's parents are screaming at the principal to fire the teacher that wasn't controlling thier child.
You're twisting my words around. What started this debate is you talking about kids being "wimps" for not "standing up for themselves." I'm not saying that children should be arrested. That concept is ridiculous. I agree that the parents should be doing their jobs to teach their own children right from wrong.
What I meant was, if these kids are not taught that this is wrong at an early age, they may keep doing these things as adults.
Yes these things have always happened and always will, but that doesn't make it right.
Big Jeff, sorry you found my post ridiculous. Unfortunately, it's true. Who the he#$ are you to tell me how to write and what phrases I should use anyway? Let me guess, unemployed English Lit. major?
Have a nice day anyway.
@ Mandy Anderson - Here we go again, more "today it's worse" garbage! My argument from before stands for this one too. "Today's pot is stronger than our generation's pot so it was okay for us." "Music today is so much more harmful than our music was so it's okay to ban it." Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Generation-after-generation it's the same thing. Kids find ways to bug their parents. It's not any worse... and it's never going away. Get over yourselves.
@SoSickoftheGOP - You never teased a kid in school? Ever?!!.. I'm calling BS on that!
@Smeado Sorry but today some things ARE worse. Talk to the elderly who are around eighty or so and they'll tell you how life was like back then. People had better manners. People helped each other. Yes bad things still happened but not nearly as often as they do today. I'm not talking about pot or music either, just plain facts about behavior.
Too bad things now aren't like they were in the old days. Back then children were expected to respect others and if they didn't they got into trouble. Back then parents could punish their children without fear of being accused of "abusing" them.
it's true, i guess...i'm reminded of a quote by al capone, "you can get more with a kind word and a gun than just with a gun alone..."
That got a chuckle from me joe. That quote reminds me of whoever said "I speak softly, but I carry a big stick!"
You're right Mandy, some things are different. People complain and whine a lot more, kids are emotionally weaker thanks to their over-protective parents, and soccer moms have way too much say-so.
The problem these days is that people want to take things to the extreme. I have walked into grocery stores and seen parents scream obscene things at their children. I have also seen children misbehaving and their parents ignoring them and doing nothing about it.
What happened to the solid middle ground? Common sense is no longer common anymore.
And Smeado? Lets just agree to disagree please. There's no need to be rude.
@edster - I have no problem with you telling your daughter she can defend herself, I had to tell my son the same thing when he was in daycare; my question is, when your daughter told you this particular child was hurting her, did you call the school? It is not enough to tell your daughter to protect herself, if you didn't contact the school, you were essentially saying it is okay for this child to continue acting in this way.
There is almost zero information,not enough to report yet.Sad.I wish them peace
What they reported was that a 10 year old 'apparently' commit suicide. That qualifies as news to me. The need for all the details is a kind of morbid curiosity that is asking for information that need not be publicized. With three siblings that took their lives, I know the heartbreak that goes along with an incident like this. When the medical examiner's report comes out, you will get your treat!
As brief as it is, thus far the article points towards either accidental or purposefull suicide and not towards the parents, as the limited wording would have been different. Too little to go on yet, but suffice to say it's tragic no matter what; no 10 yr. old knows what it means to 'die'. Not really. Some have murdered or raped at such an age, and I'd say that aside from the rare psycho/sociopathic incident, they have no conception of what they've really done.
With teens, there's the surging and ebbing emotional twists, ups and downs, relationships that feel like the end all to all, etc.... but at 10, I can't imagine what would've led him to believe all hope was lost. Even teens with that feeling have some degree of self preservation, thus not all commit suicide, in fact very, very few do. I'd bet this is accidental, but we'll see.
@Softdude;
I knew of 2 in high school that committed suicide throughout the 5 years I was there ( 8 through 12) and they were siblings. One had tried 2x before wrapping himself in electric wires, plugging them in and getting into the tub; a year later his sister hung herself from a tree in the backyard. Always wondered; is there some genetics inovolved in this or is it because of the 1st one doing it?
Moderation,
You severely underestimate children. The understanding of death is not that hard to come by. At 14, a Catholic priest determined I was a juvenial delinquent because a 14 year old lacked that knowledge. I was euphoric as I went to sleep with my overdose. The euphoria was about the pain being over because I did not expect to wake up. I underwent 20 shock treatment before I quit trying. At that point, with the large amount of power they used in the 60's, I was pretty well brain damaged. my technical abilities were intact, but my personality and self awareness was gone. I am 61 now and my brain adapted in ways that make me quite unique. I have made millions for companies and gotten fired in return. I am so bipolar now, I am on disability. I almost went postal at the last job I had and had to commit myself to stop it. I believe that most suicides are driven by unbearable physical and/or emotional pain, coupled with a complete loss of hope. When you get depressed, you get a kind of tunnel vision where all of the other ways out just seem to disappear. I have been hospitalized seven times and managed to cheat death by so doing.
Oh well, saying that triggered a PTSD.
I used to be a journalist and most are right this is a junk article without any info what so ever. An article no matter if breaking or old news should always have the who, what, when, where, why, and how before it is printed and that is in journalism 101. Because if the facts in the story were to be "a 10 year child (the who) has commited suicide (the what) after being beaten and assaulted (the why) by his parents 'or other things happening' yesterday (the when) in BFE (the where) by gunshot (the how). then it would be a news story and you would see the story in a complete different view. The lack of the 5 W and H of journalism allows the media source to change your view of the story. They get the pity from you first then when the rest of the story is released you already and turned to feel sorry for the child. This is the same thing as embedded Journalism in the war the government controls when an article is released allowing for the facts to be so covered up by paper work that when a story comes out about something that would get most wanting an investigation it is already had time to be covered up enough that the TRUTH or FACTS do not come out..
maxn699, you have hit the nail on the head. The only facts that this article has is that there is a 10 year old child in north Milwaukee and that he is dead. It's truly a sad situation indeed... but is it news? .. or more to the point is it a News Story yet? The rest of this story is one morsel speculation.. it's apparently a suicide. Okay... So we have a child that died in Milwaukee and it looks like a suicide... I'm sorry but even as sad and tragic this is for those involved, I fail to see the relevance beyond a blurb on a local news broadcast at this point.
Does anyone think the family of this child really appreciates their tragedy being displayed and trumpeted and speculated upon here? At this point, and until there are some solid facts about this situation are known, there is no story here that anyone outside of the family/friends of this child needs to know.
WHAT.....would drive a 10 year old to take his own life??? THIS is sad....VERY sad. I feel badly for the parents and the youths friends, and they have my deepest sympathy.
There is nothing in the original article to say that he did take his own life. But the headline sure got our attention.
Elk...You are sooo right. Finding him "unresponsive" doesn't even give a clue as to what the circumstances were that led to the conclusion of the author to write "suicide." Was he found hanging and unresponsive? Should read: Death of 10 year old apparent suicide: Under Investigation....The ME hasn't even reported a cause of death at this point. Very poor reporting. Good comment that demonstrate common sense and sound judgment--Thank you.
My son was suicidal at 10 years old. Fortunately we found out before he could do anything permanent and we were able to get help for him. Not every parent gets that opportunity. As for why he was suicidal? No one knows. He doesn't know. The prevailing thought is that his brain chemistry is messed up. He's not abused, he knows he's loved, and we've never pressured him to be anything other than himself. We're not perfect parents but we haven't messed up so badly that it should lead to this kind of behavior. He perceived himself as a victim of school bullying but even that wasn't as bad as his perception led him to believe. My husband and I had wondered for some time if there was something wrong with him but when they are that young it's hard to determine if there's something severely wrong or if the child is just a little quirky. My point is that jumping to conclusions without any facts being presented is silly. For all anyone knows at this point, this little boy had a good life with many friends and a supportive family.
I remember it was pretty bad for me in 6th grade. Junior High got worse. It was just luck that there was not a gun available to me in High School.
These tragedies, if this story is shown to be related, are brewing every day.
There is nothing in this story that corroborates the headline.
Exactly what I'm seeing.
you- tube... moldy peaches..times are bad ...if ya' need a picture...
Make sure it really was suicide. I am afraid with all the talk of about children committing suicide lately, it will just encourage others to do it too. Sometimes young people are hurting very badly and when someone introduces an option to them, they will take it, because they don't know any better.
Excellent point Carol. An added point is that when a person reaches the stage where suicide is truly decided upon, it changes (lowers) the threshold of reasoning for that person. If they are unsuccessful or it is prevented somehow, that person will reach that threshold much more easily in the future. I know, I've dealt with it and have a child that has attempted suicide on a serious level several times. The best form of prevention is to never let yourself or others get to that stage in the first place. Suicide IS NOT AN OPTION. Let's be careful to not have our kids desensitized to it, but still address it with them to help prevent it.
I know someone whose 12-year old committed suicide because of the experimental medication he was on for a terminal disease. It was so tragic. Not that it would have compensated in any way, she couldn't even file a lawsuit against anyone because it was decided that her terminally ill son's life had no value. My prayers to all.
No, she couldn't sue because when experimental medications are used forms are signed that prevent litigation against the Drs and pharmaceutical companies. Know why? Because the medicines are experimental and they don't know the long term effects. Stop trying to blame someone who was apparently trying to help the child. Besides, wouldn't the blame more accurately fall on the parents who allowed the experimental drugs to be used in the first place? Huh? Oh, don't blame your friend? Why not? You're more than willing to blame the Dr. with no proof he did anything wrong. This is exactly what happens when people start jumping to conclusions, and then start suing about everything.
Wow, Mr. Ed, the one I see jumping to conclusions is you. I read no blame or hatred in the submission by cybertoe, just sharing a story and frustration, with "prayers for all."
I am astonished at all the people waiting to pounce on everyone for anything, when all they are doing is sharing thoughts and joining in a discussion. Simple comments get an overwhelming barrage of hatred and spite. Why?
I'm sorry, but how the heck does a 10 year old even have the capability or mindset to commit suicide? Sounds more to me like mommy left the bottle of pills out and the kid got into them and mistook them for vitamins or something tragic like that. But then again, in this day and age it's not surprising to find kids just a few years older than that having sex and overdosing on hard drugs and alcohol...My prayers.
Patin
It happens. Bullying can push even the youngest to suicide. A 9 year old boy hanged himself at school in the Colony, Tx. Everyone was surprised because he was so young. But today's kids are over-exposed to all the strife in the world, violence in video games, violence all around them. When they can't deal, they do what they see and hear.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=elemetary%20school%20boy%20commits%20suicide%20in%20texas&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCoQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfoxdfw.com%2Fdpp%2Fnews%2Fboy%2C-9%2C-commits-suicide-at-school&ei=DprbTqTmMMWqsQLdspn-DQ&usg=AFQjCNFSEfEFtyPmFjeAE3O3bROn2Af8TA
Patin...Your statement demonstrates a clear lack of knowledge and a rush to judgment that is inappropriate at best. A 10 year old knows enough not to take a handful of vitamins or anything else. Blame it on Mom? That is so cruel, given the lack of information that has been reported. Where is your empathy? Very inappropriate post. A 10 year old does have the capability of forming the mind set to commit suicide, as Leroy pointed out. Unfortunately, they also have a fantasy component to their thinking--that they will be able to see the results from above....They don't have the concept that dead is dead. I don't even know why this has been declared a suicide yet. If the parents are responsible, then so be it...but neither I nor you know that yet.
Patin,
so you know how the kid died? Funny, so far that information hasn't been released. It is ignorant comments just like yours that start rumors in the first place. Go ahead, blame the mom, we have no idea how the child died but WTH, blame mom anyway, let's get public opinion against her before we even know for fact the kid is dead. (you may notice that the article is sadly lacking in the fact department, it never does actually state that the child was declared dead)
If the medical examiner has been called in, the boy is deceased. My condolences to the family.
Except for family and close friends...why did this have to be made public?
Right now, it should not have. But when the facts and details are known, it could be important. Important because it can make parents more aware of how these young people may be responding to things happening in their lives, whether it is bullying, family issues like divorce, mental issues, etc. If someone can learn some lessons from this and other children are saved, it may bring some type of solace to the parents and make it worth while to make it public.
I agree, Ippster.
Regardless of the bad reporting, it's terribly sad to lose so young a life, and it this time of year it has to be brutal on the family. My condolences to them and all those who knew this child.
Some good questions here, which is one reason the medical examiner was called. "He must have killed himself" (if it was a boy; we don't know) may join the famous list: "Those aren't my drugs" "I was going to return the money" "I only had 2 beers" and "she fell down." I remember Sharon Kinne, who shot her sleeping husband in the back of the head, put the gun on the pillow, and claimed her 2 1/2 year old daughter did it.
From the article, there's no way of knowing what happened here.
That is how bad the Baby Boomers has screwed up America when a 10 year old realizes he doesn't want to live in a World screwed up by the Baby Boomers.
Excuse me??? The Baby Boomers caused this boy's death? And, the me, me, me generation has nothing to do with the world today? The sense of entitlement of some of our young people--and I am not referring to a 10 year old child--is what is the problem. The Baby Boomers have made a lot of mistakes....but we also integrated schools, fought for an end to a no win war, and called for "Give peace a chance." Then we grew up and realized that the world is a corrupt place--pay or play. Lot's of us Baby Boomers are as disillusioned as you seem to be....We thought we could make a difference...And we couldn't and didn't in the end.
Lourdes, you my dear are an idiot.. The Baby boomers are not to be blamed for
anything.. You are one of those poor me whiners that have to have something to blame for your
failures. Some of YOU PEOPLE make me sick.
You can't even type the English language correctly.. Get an education and a job.
10 year olds do not commit suicide.
Yes, they do.
What makes anyone think this is a suicide? There was nothing in the article to indicate it was a suicide, or anything else for that matter. It really was a poorly written article. They should've waited until more info was available before even releasing the article.
Yes, 10 year olds can absolutely commit suicide, but they do it without a developed comprehension of what that really means and the fact that it's not irreversible. Furthermore, some suicides in children begin as a thought or fantasy that they have no intention of advancing, but things go wrong and it becomes a permanent action.
Any child being indoctrinated into any religion before they are even in thier teens is nothing short of brainwashing.
I respect people's right to be an atheists. Atheists need to respect other peoples' rights to believe in God.
Dear God -- with some of the posting I have read no wonder kids have no hope. My thoughts go out to the family. What a horrific thing to happen just before Christmas.
With no real information about the child's death, this suicide may have indeed been an accident. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to this family, I couldn't even begin to imagine their pain. I'm going to go hug my 10 yr. old now.
For crying' out loud--there is NOTHING in the original story that says "suicide." Once again, msnbc is creating news, not reporting it!
With so little information, it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions as to why, or even if, this boy committed suicide. We don't have any information other than that the mother found him dead. There are so many possibilities that could have lead to his death that making assumptions that it was due to bullying, parental abuse, mental illness, accidental, homicidal, biological or anything else you can think of is absurd. I am not even sure why the headline didn't say "Boy, 10, dies of apparent suicide." Still, a boy has lost his life and a family suffers....How sad.
In Malcolm Gladwells "The Tipping Point" he reports on a community in the South Pacific where kids were hanging themselves with a belt on their door. Usually with notes to the degree of something simple like 'I'm sorry for what I did'- referring to getting in trouble earlier for something simple like not cleaning their room. This became big news and it continued to happen over and over. Kids do not understand the concept of death. It is a way to get attention and sorrow from others and that is all they are trying to achieve. The only way they got rid of this epidemic was to stop reporting it. I dont think that our child suicides over bullying has fully tipped yet. I also do not think that America has the capacity to not report these incidents and kids will continue to repeat this just because they are bullied or any other reason for attention.
wanna show me where in the article anything was mentioned about bullying?
There is not one here. But I will show you one about a 10 year old who committed suicide. "just because they are bullied or any other reason for attention."
Thanks richard, but I have read enough stories about children committing suicide.
I'm afraid that we are not done reading about it in the news. It will continue.
Unfortunately richard you are correct, this is by no means the last story of this type we will read.
Very sad. Condolences to his family.
What could possibly drive a child that young to end his own life?
What could drive a suicide? How about sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, bullying in school, depression or some other mental illness, hopelessness, very low self-esteem, you name it. It may be relatively rare for a 10-year-old to commit suicide but it does happen.
Your heart has to hurt for a 10-yr old who feels that there is no hope in the world. I have a 12-yr old grandson & I hope he knows that no matter what he is thinks is so bad that he feels suicide is the answer, that he can come to his parents or to us or to his uncle anytime, anywhere & we will work to help him or get him help. While it "takes a village to raise a child", it is our responsibility as the family to take care of our own & to find & obtain help. Take the child to his/her doctor or clinic. Take him to the ER because yes, this is a medical emergency (I am a triage nurse & I would take you back immediately. ) This very short news blurb doesn't do anything but throw a headline out there, but the family is in my prayers as they should be in everyone's. Don't pass judgment; hold the family in you thoughts.
you dont know if it is a sucide yet. i am sure the police are looking at the family very closely and waiting on the coroner to confirm. one rule of crime is do not look at the obvious!
Children of that age often do not understand the finality of their actions. Perhaps they are punished and are angry...They have the mind set that says: "I'll show you! You'll be sad when I am dead." Usually, at that age, impulse control has not fully developed and consequences of death are hard to imagine. They aren't always bullied or tormented or without hope. Sometimes they are just mad and act on that feeling without thinking it through. No matter....It is still sad and the ME still hasn't provided a cause of death...So, I am just speaking theoretically. Not enough information to even support my possible conclusion...Sorry. Still, a tragedy, no matter the cause. A family will suffer...for a lifetime....and no way to "fix" this.
strange that a 10 year old would ever think or know how to commit suicide. i am sure the detectives are looking at this family with a fine tooth comb and waiting for the coroners report. less than 1% of suicides are done by kids that age. when i was that age all i rememebr was my sister and i fighting constantly. when my sister attacked me with a golf putter are parents moved us far apart. lol
What ever happened..it's a tragic, tragic, and sad thing for this poor little child..no child should know that much pain.
Not so strange!!! The suicide rate amongst teens and pre-teens has been on the rise for some time now. As to these events not occuring 40-50 years ago, they occured but were not reported. True they did not occur to the extent we find today.
The death of any child, taken before s/he has the opportunity to experience all this life has to offer is difficult, at best. This is even moreso when the child takes his/her own life. Many of the comments I read here are proof positive that Americans have lost something which should be near and dear to them: their hearts, the ability to empathize and show caring concern. How sad.
May God have mercy on this child and the family. May the child be carried in the arm of the angels to its final home.
What a waste of a beautiful young life.My deepest condolences to the Family!
R.I.P. little man.
This is just the "Hook line" more to come later. I hope.
For everyone's information, as of two minutes ago, The Milwaukee Wisconsin - 2 ABC News - carried the same information as MSNBC. No comments on bullying or suicide.
Too many insightful comments for this timeframe.
What a sad story. I feel so sorry for the parents and siblings, his extended family and friends. I have a feeling that more information will show this precious child was bullied. Parents, teachers, school administrative staff and friends need to watch out for such behavior. Bullying is a terrible thing to do to a child, or to anyone, and it must stop. Too many people still turn a blind-eye rather than deal with the bullying. RIP, precious boy.
Wanna show me where in the article anything was mentioned about bullying?
Lin1945 said that they "have a feeling that more information will show this precious child was bullied." That means that they think the child was bullied...learn how to read.