TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about suicide, which may be triggering to some.
When we talk about school shootings, we seem to only focus on what happens during and immediately after the incident: the current loss of life and the fear parents have as they wait to hear if their children are OK. It’s a perfectly valid thing to focus our energy on, but we don’t often talk about what happens in the months, days, weeks, and years after the tragedy. In 2018, a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, also known as the Parkland shooting, had a tragic impact on the community. One survivor, Donovan Metayer, had his life changed forever, and years after the unimaginable tragedy, he has taken his own life due to his struggles with mental health.
In a Facebook post, Nancy Metayer Bowen, his older sister, shared that her brother died on December 15, 2025, after a seven-year battle with schizophrenia.
Metayer’s family began a GoFundMe account to raise money for not only a funeral and celebration of life for him but to also invest in mental health funding in Florida. In the fundraiser, they were candid about how surviving the Parkland shooting as a senior had affected his life in the years that followed.
“The trauma of that day and the loss of classmates lingered long after graduation and profoundly altered the course of his life,” the family wrote. “In the months that followed, Donny began to withdraw. Depression, guilt, emotional instability, and long periods of isolation replaced the vibrant young man we once knew.”
Though Metayer planned to attend college, his worsening mental health made that difficult. Over the years, he was hospitalized multiple times for suicidal ideation.
“Finding care through limited resources, systemic barriers, and the realities of navigating mental health crises as a young Black man made his path all the more steep,” the family explained on the page.
In 2021, a mental health episode led Donovan Metayer to be involuntarily hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act. This means that a law enforcement official, mental health provider, or judge placed him on a temporary mental health hold to evaluate him, People explained.
Being treated under the Baker Act meant Metayer was temporarily barred from purchasing a firearm.
The Metayer family thought they were able to get him the help he needed after finding a private psychiatrist. He earned an IT certification and began working at Office Depot. “After years of challenges, he was beginning to carve out a sense of independence and a future he could believe in. His progress was a source of immense pride for our family,” they shared.
Sadly, when Donovan Metayer found out earlier in December that his risk protection order, which barred him from buying a firearm, had lapsed, he purchased a gun. A week later, he shot himself and died.
“Donny’s passing is a heartbreaking reminder of the mental health crisis plaguing our youth and the lasting trauma of gun violence on our community. The loss of our family’s youngest child is a sorrow beyond words—one that will echo through our lives, forever,” his family continued on the GoFundMe page. “Yet even in our grief, we are choosing to speak Donovan’s truth, so that other families do not have to suffer in silence the way we have.”
The family shared that in addition to using the money for a celebration of life that will take place in January, donations will be used to “endow a fund at the Henderson Clinic that will provide healthcare, housing, and hope for people of all ages with behavioral health conditions throughout Florida.”
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
