The Countdown: Violence in schools among students
In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we focus on a recent string of violence in schools among students.
Two students and a staff member at Williamsburg Charter High School were shot Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn.
Thankfully, all three are being treated and are expected to physically recover.
In New Jersey, Eyewitness News reporter Michelle Charlesworth covered a tragic story involving bullying.
A 14-year-old girl died by suicide in Ocean County a day after girls in her class beat her up.
Her father and fellow classmates are now demanding accountability from the school.
If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises please call or text the new three-digit code at 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
Mental Illness
Taking a closer look at the data, it can't be stressed enough how vulnerable young minds are to mental and emotional pain. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five high school students report thoughts of taking their own lives, while nearly one in 10 have actually made an attempt. To help better understand the subject matter, we were joined by Dr. Scott Krakower, a child psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside Hospital.
Social media lawsuit interview
Last month, the Seattle Public School District filed a lawsuit against the social media giants, including the companies behind TikTok, Facebook and Instagram for causing the mental health crisis among young people. In recent years, the social media companies have been adding functions to allow for more parental supervision and to encourage healthy use of social media among teens. But that isn't stopping the lawsuits.
Investigative reporter Kristin Thorne recently spoke with attorney Matthew Bergman, the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center based in Seattle. He told her his law center is representing more than 1,000 families across the U.S. and Canada who are filing lawsuits against the social media companies for causing harm to their loved ones.
You can watch 'The Countdown' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.
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