Photo: GoFundMe
Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, has died, his family announced, per PEOPLE. He was 26.
According to the outlet, Metayer's family said the 26-year-old died by suicide on December 15.
Metayer was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a mass shooter killed 17 people on February 14, 2018. In a Facebook post, his sister, Nancy Metayer Bowen, said her brother had battled schizophrenia for seven years.
“The loss of our family’s youngest child is a sorrow beyond words — one that will echo through our lives, forever,” the family wrote on a GoFundMe page created to help cover funeral expenses and support behavioral health services in Florida. “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.”
Born September 16, 1999, Metayer was remembered by his family as “brilliant and curious,” with a warmth and humor that “could light up any room.” Loved ones said the Parkland shooting affected Metayer's last year of high school and that he “carried unimaginable sorrow,” leading to depression, guilt, emotional instability, and long periods of isolation.
Though he dreamed of attending college and pursuing computer science, Metayer's family said worsening mental health made those goals difficult. Over the years, Metayer received treatment, including therapy and medication, and experienced multiple hospitalizations. He later found support through the Henderson Behavioral Health Clinic and a private psychiatrist, which his family described as “a lifeline.”
Metayer went on to earn an IT certificate and joined Office Depot in Coral Springs, where he was promoted.
“With their support, Donny began to heal,” the family wrote. “After years of challenges, he was beginning to carve out a sense of independence and a future he could believe in.”
The family said Metayer’s death underscores the lingering trauma of gun violence and the mental health challenges facing young people. They plan to use the funds raised to endow a program at the Henderson Clinic, providing healthcare, housing, and support for individuals with behavioral health conditions across Florida.
“Though Donny’s life was brief, his impact will be everlasting,” the family wrote.
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