My first concern was the welfare of my son and his friends. It was scary when they thought there was a second suspect involved and authorities were closing streets close to the apartment trying to find him. Authorities later announced that they believed Tooley acted alone.
Looking back in retrospect at the incident, my lament is over a young person who appears to believe he is out of options. At nineteen, I was just graduating high school and felt the world was my oyster. The possibilities seemed endless to me. I can understand the isolation and how a person can feel like suicide is his only option. I have been there once. However, for me, the thought left as quickly as it came when a friend banged on my car window. Were there any signs Colton's family or friends could detect indicating something may have been wrong for this young man? I feel for them as well. Sometimes those signs are so subtle or may not even show. A person experiencing suicidal thoughts may become withdrawn, quiet, or uninterested in those things that once captivated them.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, please please please get help. I promise you that tomorrow can be brighter for you. There are options. Talk someone. There is hope. There is another way. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK. Please call, or talk to a trusted friend or clergyperson.
If you know someone who may be suicidal. above all listen. Ask them directly if they are contemplating suicide. Do not leave them alone. Call 911 and get them help. You may save a life.
"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18:12-14
