Donovan Metayer, a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, died by suicide on December 15, 2025. He was 26.
Metayer was a senior at the time of the massacre that killed 17 people, including 14 of his classmates.
Metayer spent seven years battling severe mental health challenges. His family says the trauma of the shooting triggered schizophrenia, depression, survivor’s guilt, and long periods of isolation that profoundly altered his life.
“The baby of the Metayer family, “Donny,” as he was affectionately called, was a radiant child,” according to Donovan’s GoFundMe page set up by his family.
“Brilliant and curious, he always excelled academically, with an intellect matched only by a magnetic humor and warmth that could light up any room, effortlessly.
But, beneath that light, Donny carried unimaginable sorrow.”
Metayer tried to gain some normalcy in his life by working at Office Depot, receiving a promotion, earning an IT certificate, and seeking help for his mental health, as noted on his GoFundMe page, but these efforts weren’t enough to save him.
Metayer had repeated hospitalizations and long periods of isolation for his mental illness, including a 2021 involuntary treatment episode under Florida’s Baker’s Act. Under this act, law enforcement officials, health professionals, or judges placed individuals whose experiencing a mental crisis on a temporary, involuntary mental health hold for crisis evaluation and stabilization.
Family members noted that a risk protection order under Florida’s Baker’s Act that prevented him from purchasing a firearm had recently expired, allowing him to legally buy the handgun used in his death, as reported by PEOPLE.
“Donny’s passing is a heartbreaking reminder of the mental health crisis plaguing our youth and the lasting trauma of gun violence in our community,” according to Donovan’s family, as reported by WUSF.
To honor Donovan’s life, the family is establishing a mental health fund in his name through the Henderson Clinic in Broward County, a facility they say became a lifeline during his treatment. As of December 24th, the initiative has raised over $54,000 out of its $70,000 goal.
Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. and Canada, available 24/7.
