Parkland Shooting Survivor Dies at 26 After Years of Trauma and Mental Illness, Family Says
Donovan Metayer - Image Credit GoFundMe
Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has died at the age of 26. His family confirmed that Metayer died by suicide on December 15, following a years-long struggle with severe mental illness.
In a statement shared on Facebook and through a GoFundMe page, Metayer’s family said he battled schizophrenia for nearly seven years, a condition they say emerged soon after he survived one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Seventeen students and staff members were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Parkland school on February 14, 2018.
According to his family, the trauma of that day profoundly altered Metayer’s life. “His senior year was marked by the Parkland shooting, one of the most devastating acts of gun violence in our nation’s history,” they wrote. “The trauma of that day and the loss of classmates lingered long after graduation and profoundly altered the course of his life.”
In the months following the shooting, the family said Metayer began to withdraw from those around him. Depression, guilt, emotional instability, and long periods of isolation replaced the “vibrant young man” they once knew. His dreams of pursuing computer science became increasingly difficult to reach as his mental health deteriorated.
Over the years, Metayer was hospitalized multiple times for suicidal ideation and cycled through various treatments, including therapy and medication. His family noted that navigating mental health care was especially difficult due to limited resources, systemic barriers, and the challenges faced by young Black men seeking consistent psychiatric support.
In 2021, Metayer experienced a mental health crisis that resulted in him being involuntarily committed under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows temporary detention for individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others. That episode temporarily barred him from purchasing a firearm.
The family said Metayer later found stability while working with the Henderson Clinic and a private psychiatrist, support they described as “a lifeline.” During that period, he earned an IT certificate, secured a job at an Office Depot in Coral Springs, and was quickly promoted, giving his family hope that he was rebuilding his independence.
However, his condition later relapsed. After a risk protection order expired last month, Metayer was able to legally purchase a handgun. “A week later, he would use that same handgun to take his own life in our family home,” the family wrote.
His loved ones say Metayer’s death underscores the lasting trauma of gun violence and the deep mental health crisis affecting young Americans. Part of the GoFundMe proceeds will be donated to organizations that support behavioral health care in Florida, including the Henderson Clinic. “We are breaking the silence in his memory,” the family said, “so that other families do not have to suffer the way we have.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available. In the United States, you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, at any time, or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org for support.
