School shooting survivor stricken by 'survivor's guilt' takes own life

Students and parents visit a make shift memorial setup at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in honor of those killed during a mass shooting to mark the one year anniversary, A year ago on Feb. 14th at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 14 students and three staff members were killed during the mass shooting on February 14, 2019 in Parkland, Florida. [Photo: AP]

A teenager who survived the Parkland school shooting in Florida has killed herself while struggling with survivors’ guilt, local media reported Friday.

Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members.

Among the dead were two of Aiello’s best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver.

Her parents told local news CBS4 that she had been treated for PTSD, and suffered from survivor’s guilt, when a victim fixates on why they were the one to live, not someone else.

Her mother, Cara, told CBS Miami that Aiello had had a difficult time with her college classes “because classrooms now scared her.”

Parkland Victims Remembered On One Year Anniversary of MSD Shooting Seventeen people were shot and killed by an ex-student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida on 14 February 2018. [Photo: AP]

Aiello graduated from high school in July. She was a yoga enthusiast, and took part in the national student movement seeking legal changes on gun control policy.

Stoneman Douglas students became crusaders against gun violence under the banner “March for Our Lives,” lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organizing protests and rallies.

Meadow’s father, Andrew Pollack, told the Miami Herald that his “heart goes out to those poor, poor parents.

“It’s terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time,” Pollack said.