14-year-old Nakia Venant took her own life this week while streaming the entire incident on Facebook Live.
According to the Florida Department of Children & Families, Nakia hung herself in the bathroom of her foster parents’ home.
via NYDN:
According to Miami Herald, Venant’s Facebook Live video was two-hours long and at one point showed the teen using a scarf to make a homemade noose.
The outlet reported that Venant’s video abruptly ended, but friends of the eighth grader said her suicide played out online.
“We are absolutely horrified and devastated by the news of this young girl’s death,” Mike Carroll, of the Florida DFC told the Miami Herald. “We will do everything we can to support this family and all those who cared for her as they begin to heal from this tragedy.”
Authorities tried to save Venant, but due to a series of mishaps they weren’t able to reach the teen in time.
CBS reported that a friend of Venant’s alerted Miami-Dade police when she saw the video and officers showed up to her house. The teen then gave officers another address to go to, but it was the wrong one.
Residents at the second home gave police the correct address to Venant’s foster parents.
When police arrived at the home around 3 a.m., they found Venant hanging in the bathroom while her foster parents slept in their bedroom.
Officers and a fire-rescue crew tried to resuscitate Venant, but their efforts were unsuccessful and she was taken to Jackson North Hospital and announced dead.
This sad news comes on the heels of Jay Browdy, a 33-year-old aspiring actor, shooting himself in his car on a Los Angeles street Monday after he went on Facebook Live threatening to kill himself.
Earlier this month, 12-year-old Katelyn Nicole Davis posted a 42-minute video saying that she was sexually and physically abused by a relative and didn’t “deserve to live.”
The video ended with Davis hanging herself from a tree in the front yard of her Georgia home.
We’re truly at a loss for words. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the National Suicide Prevention Liveline is available 24/7. Give them a call at 1-800-273-8255.
Comments are closed.