His name was Timothy, but everyone called him Tim or Timmy. He was a happy 11-year-old kid. Ana Maria Aguirre Nunez lived down the block from him. Timmy’s older brother, Anthony and Ana Maria (both about 17 at that time) had been best friends since elementary school.

It was summer. Anthony had gone away to camp and Ana Maria had stayed home.

Ana Maria remembers when she first heard. She couldn’t believe it. Coming back home from the market, she saw 3 police cars outside of Timmy’s house.

“My heart just sank so far down that I felt it fell out,” Ana Maria said.

Timmy was dead.

He hung himself with a belt onto the bunk beds he shared with his older brother.

No one knows why Timmy killed himself that day.

He was watching television with his friend.

Got up and said “Well I’m going to go kill myself now.”

And he did.

Suicide is fourth leading cause for children between the ages of 10 and 14, according to teensuicidestatistics.com.

For ages 15 to 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death, confirmed The Centers for Disease control.

And the numbers are the on the rise.

Recently, I met someone that tired to commit suicide by drinking toxic chemicals, like chlorine. He was rushed to the hospital. He is 18 years old.

His parents knew nothing. Coming home from work, all they saw was a chlorine bottle on the table. When they got the phone call from the hospital.

Luckly, he survived.

Hearing this story made me start thinking about how suicide has been a silent killer.

I hope that through writing about this topic those that have once thought about taking their lives will reconsider and know that there is definitely someone out there that cares.

No matter what you’re going through, someone cares.

I care.