mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Friends, family stunned by The Colony 9-year-old's apparent suicide at school
11:53 AM CST on Friday, January 22, 2010
By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News
People close to a 9-year-old boy from The Colony struggled Friday to understand why he would want to take his own life.
"That's the question we are asking and probably always ask," Brian Bradford, pastor at Horizons Church in The Colony, said a day after Montana Lance apparently hanged himself in a restroom at school. "But something like this is just impossible to truly understand as far the rationale behind it."
A staff member at Stewart's Creek Elementary School found the fourth-grader unconscious just before 1 p.m. Thursday in the nurse's bathroom. No students saw him, said Karen Permetti, the Lewisville ISD spokeswoman. Montana was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.
Bradford, who went to the hospital with Montana's family Thursday afternoon, said his parents, Jason and Deborah, have struggled to find out what happened and why.
"It kind of came out left field for us, and that just adds to the tragic nature," said Bradford, who said he is serving as the family's spokesman. "He was just a very giving kid and loved to give back and help people and help around the church."
Bradford said a Montana Lance Memorial Fund had been started at Wells Fargo banks to help his family cover medical and funeral costs.
Many parents dropping their children off at Stewart's Creek on Friday morning said they were unaware of the situation. A letter to parents would be sent home today, Permetti said.
Stephanie Rodriguez said that the news about Montana troubled her 9-year-old son so much that he slept with her Thursday night. His death is simply hard to fathom, she said.
"It's very sad," said Rodriguez, who added that the school's PTA meeting Thursday night was canceled. "I just can't imagine why this happened."
Dawn Kite, a mother who has children in the district, said she was unaware of the death until she turned on the news this morning.
"It’s absolutely crazy that the parents weren’t notified," she said.
Rodriguez said the district uses a telephone alert system that leaves messages for parents about such things as the swine flu.
"It seems like they could have used it to tell us something," she said.
Students, parents and staff members at the school will have the chance to speak to grief counselors today and next week.
Permetti and Bradford said that they were unaware whether Montana was a victim of bullying.
"Our district is extremely proactive in any bullying activity," she said. "We just don't tolerate that."
The medical examiner has not released an official determination on how Montana died.
11:53 AM CST on Friday, January 22, 2010
By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News
People close to a 9-year-old boy from The Colony struggled Friday to understand why he would want to take his own life.
"That's the question we are asking and probably always ask," Brian Bradford, pastor at Horizons Church in The Colony, said a day after Montana Lance apparently hanged himself in a restroom at school. "But something like this is just impossible to truly understand as far the rationale behind it."
A staff member at Stewart's Creek Elementary School found the fourth-grader unconscious just before 1 p.m. Thursday in the nurse's bathroom. No students saw him, said Karen Permetti, the Lewisville ISD spokeswoman. Montana was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.
Bradford, who went to the hospital with Montana's family Thursday afternoon, said his parents, Jason and Deborah, have struggled to find out what happened and why.
"It kind of came out left field for us, and that just adds to the tragic nature," said Bradford, who said he is serving as the family's spokesman. "He was just a very giving kid and loved to give back and help people and help around the church."
Bradford said a Montana Lance Memorial Fund had been started at Wells Fargo banks to help his family cover medical and funeral costs.
Many parents dropping their children off at Stewart's Creek on Friday morning said they were unaware of the situation. A letter to parents would be sent home today, Permetti said.
Stephanie Rodriguez said that the news about Montana troubled her 9-year-old son so much that he slept with her Thursday night. His death is simply hard to fathom, she said.
"It's very sad," said Rodriguez, who added that the school's PTA meeting Thursday night was canceled. "I just can't imagine why this happened."
Dawn Kite, a mother who has children in the district, said she was unaware of the death until she turned on the news this morning.
"It’s absolutely crazy that the parents weren’t notified," she said.
Rodriguez said the district uses a telephone alert system that leaves messages for parents about such things as the swine flu.
"It seems like they could have used it to tell us something," she said.
Students, parents and staff members at the school will have the chance to speak to grief counselors today and next week.
Permetti and Bradford said that they were unaware whether Montana was a victim of bullying.
"Our district is extremely proactive in any bullying activity," she said. "We just don't tolerate that."
The medical examiner has not released an official determination on how Montana died.