Students "traumatized" after senior at Palmetto High School jumps from 3rd floor
PINECREST — Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest was placed on a temporary lockdown after the Miami-Dade Schools police chief and witnesses say a student jumped from a third-floor staircase and had to be airlifted to a hospital.
This morning's incident was recorded by a student. The video is out and circulating, but CBS4 is choosing not to show it.
CBS4's Peter D'Oench reports that part of what was recorded shows a school employee trying to catch the girl. That might have saved her life.
And while students are wondering why this high school senior reached this point, what happened is again prompting the discussion about teenagers and mental health.
Macarena Barrero, an 11th grader, said, "She just jumped. Someone in security was going up the staircase towards and she just jumped. She jumped."
Emily Fonseca, an 11th grader, said, "Everyone was traumatized. It was like a movie. The teachers were shocked. It was horrible."
Vingenzo Bermudez, a 9th grader, said, "It's sad. It not only happens here, it happens everywhere."
Angel Adame, a 12th grader at the school at 7431 SW 120 Street, said, "I was shocked. Why did she do it. What was going through her head?"
Miami-Dade Schools PD Chief Edwin Lopez tweeted that the school was placed on a temporary lockdown after the student jumped. He also said that crisis counselors were at the school for employees and students who needed "additional support."
Some parents decided to come to the school and taking their children out of classes on Tuesday morning.
Romania Dukes, the grandmother of a student, said, "My prayers go out to the family and I hope she will do better. School is just starting this school year and it is a shame they have to deal with this. Mental health is crucial right now for all these kids."
There is no word on the girl's condition.
Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres recently tweeted that "there are resources for students in crisis." He said anyone needing assistance should contact the schools help line at (305) 995-7100.
Dr. Daniel Bober, who is the chief of psychiatry at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, said cases of anxiety and depression have skyrocketed.
He added that "teenage girls are suffering the most."
Dr. Bober said there are warning signs to look for.
"The warning signs being a change in appetite, changes in sleeping, changes in hygiene, withdrawing and isolating from friends. And, also, a loss of pleasure in things that you normally enjoy. Very often what it amounts to is a loss of options and the feeling that there is nothing you can do to make things better."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the suicide hotline in Miami-Dade at 211 or in Broward at 988.
