A 23-year-old Laurel woman attempted suicide with a gunshot inside Sawmill Square Mall on Friday after 9 p.m., after closing hours for most businesses there.
The mall employee worked at Level Up Aesthetics, according to her Facebook page. She waited until after the mall closed for the night, then shot herself in the head, according to police reports, and was taken to South Central Regional Medical Center with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
“We would not usually talk about an attempted suicide,” said Chief Tommy Cox of the Laurel Police Department. “We don’t want to exacerbate the situation. However, we felt the public needed to know that this was not an attempted mass shooting. The woman had no intention of injuring anyone else.”
The woman is recovering from her injuries, which was reportedly a “graze” wound to the head.
“We are very happy that no one was killed in this situation,” Cox said. “We urge anyone that feels like they are feeling depressed to this extent to call the state suicide prevention hotline at 988.”
The woman put her plans on Facebook a few hours before the shot was fired, going through each of her family members and letting them know that it was not their fault.
“Well here I am,” the woman wrote. “The popular girl, the strong girl, the crazy girl lol. I hope no one is sad … no one was sad when I was here right? No one heard my cry when I was here right?! Smile! Smile Big!!
“My child was my only weakness … y’all knew right where to hit me and know exactly who you are DIRTY mfs. Take care of her (her daughter). Love her. Even though NO ONE will love her like I always will.
“When she’s older, tell her what you did. Let her know what type of person mommy was. My confidence, my love, my energy, my beauty, my laughter, my spirituality.”
She continued, “I thought the suicidal thoughts would vanish eventually. They didn’t! I wanted to be where I’m noticed and heard … with God. My funeral should be really empty.”
Then she went on to write how much she would like each family member to comfort each other, and how much she loves each and every one of them.
“To my mom, I LOVE YOU … be strong. Don’t cry too much ok? I know my dad is waiting to welcome me with open arms. Keep my name alive.”
A very large public outreach has come out in support of her as she strives to get healthy again.
Sawmill Square Mall manager Regina Higginbotham said, “From everything I saw on Facebook, it looks like everyone was just taken completely by shock by the news. I want everyone to learn from this tragedy and know we are always looking to help our vendors the best we can.
“We are glad that she is OK and we hope that she gets the help that she needs. We need to remember that everyone is going through some form of depression and to treat everyone with kindness.”
The Leader-Call doesn’t typically report on suicide or suicide attempts, but because there were rumors there had been a shooting inside the mall and there was a police investigation, editors decided to report on it. The woman’s name was available because of her public post, but editors made the decision to withhold her identity.
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