4 teens died by suicide in Seattle area in recent days
Three were girls; one was a boy.
According to public health officials in King County, two were 16-year-old girls, one was a 17-year-old girl, and one was a 16-year-old boy. They lived in Shoreline, Bellevue, Woodinville, and Algona.
There is no evidence the suicides were related.
The number of youth suicides in the county over the course of four days is unusual. So far this year, King County has seen seven youth suicides. That compares with 12 for 2018, which was the highest number since 2012.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people age 10 to 24. In recent years, suicide rates have been rising.
According to a study in the current Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, the number of youth who presented to emergency rooms with suicidal thoughts or actions doubled between 2007 and 2015.
Listen to Deborah Wang and Bill Radke discussing the shortage of mental health services in the state's high schools on KUOW's The Record.
Read more: As youth suicides increase, these teens want to save lives
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Deborah Wang
Contributing Reporter, Editor, & Host
Deborah is a contributing reporter, editor and host at KUOW. Since joining the staff in 2005, Deborah has done everything from political reporting to podcast hosting and is now serving as Interim News Director. She is an award–winning radio and television journalist whose career spans more than three decades.
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