Mom of Girl, 14, Who Died by Suicide in Front of Deputy Says, 'I'm Angry with Those that Hurt my Baby'
Jaylee Chillson fatally shot herself in front a sheriff's deputy on Sept. 16
The mother of Jaylee Chillson, the 14-year-old Kansas girl who fatally shot herself in front of a sheriff’s deputy, wrote a Facebook post in which she paid tribute to her daughter while also expressing anger at those who she said “hurt” the teen.
“I’m angry with those that hurt my baby,” wrote Stacie Chillson. “I’m furious with those I KNOW hurt her and will talk about her now like they didn’t play a part in crushing her.”
On Sept. 16, the Cloud County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Jaylee had run away from home, and the teen was then located by a deputy, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Jaylee was at an outdoor party in Aurora, Kan., when she was found, police said. As the deputy was bringing her to his vehicle, Jaylee pulled out a gun and shot herself. She was pronounced dead at the scene just after midnight on Sept. 27. The deputy and multiple party-goers witnessed the incident, the department said.
Related: 14-Year-Old Kansas Runaway Fatally Shoots Herself in Front of Deputy After Refusing to Return Home
In her tribute post, Stacie Chillson called her daughter one of the world’s “brightest lights.”
“This girl has the biggest heart of anyone I know and has since she was just a little girl,” she wrote. “There wasn’t a day that went by that she couldn’t make you laugh till you couldn’t breathe. She is amazing. Perfect.”
“Everything you could ever ask for in a daughter,” the post continued. “She’s beautiful. She’s smart. She is our everything.”
But Stacie also said her daughter was “failed” by people and that Jaylee was mistreated over the past year.
“I’ve read days worth of messages from her 'friends' that treated her absolutely awful,” Stacie wrote. Watched as she was not included with girls on her sports teams. Watched adults on a school level repeatedly fail her.”
“Watched as girls that were once her best friends not even acknowledge her when she would walk by them, and watch a handful of parents who used to gush about her and how amazing she was turn to calling her names and talking badly about her to their kids,” the post went on.
“No one outside of our family and her [therapist] know what the last year of her life has been like. Please stop making assumptions, please don’t judge her. And please do not, if you know YOU were part of the problem, if you knew YOUR child was part of the problem, use my daughters name now that she’s gone. You don’t deserve to. “
Jaylee was born in Manhattan, Kan., according to her obituary, and enjoyed fishing, camping, hunting and softball. She is survived by her parents, four brothers and four grandparents.
A GoFundMe for Jaylee’s funeral expenses has raised over $16,000 in six days.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit BeSMARTforkids.org.
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