High school football player, 14, kills himself after 'getting in trouble for throwing a party'

  • Reagan Beene 'shot himself on Saturday and was found by his sister'
  • Friends and family shared their grief online following the death of the popular and outgoing ninth grade student from Alpharetta, Georgia

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 16:59 EST, 16 December 2013 | UPDATED: 18:52 EST, 16 December 2013

A 14-year-old high school football star has killed himself after reportedly getting in trouble for throwing a party.

Reagan Beene, a ninth grade student at Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia, committed suicide on Saturday. Messages on social media suggested he shot himself before his older sister found his body, but authorities have not yet confirmed this.

Other friends suggested that Beene, who lived with his family in Alpharetta, committed suicide after throwing a party, the Hinterland Gazette reported.

Loss: Fourteen-year-old Reagan Beene, right, a high school football player in Milton, Georgia, has taken his life. He is pictured with one of his sisters Anderson

Loss: Fourteen-year-old Reagan Beene, right, a high school football player in Milton, Georgia, has taken his life. He is pictured with one of his sisters Anderson

Cambridge High School principal Dr Edward Spurka confirmed the death in a statement.

'It is with great sadness that I send this message to our community,' he wrote. 'Today, Cambridge High School mourns the loss of one of our beloved 9th graders, Reagan Beene.

'We express our deepest sympathy to the Beene family; our thoughts and prayers are with them in this time of grief.'

 

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Dr Spurka added that counseling staff would be available at the school on Monday for students.

A memorial is also being held at Stonecreek church, where staff will be available, on Tuesday.

Fellow students have taken to social media to express their grief, agreeing to wear blue as a tribute to Beene at school on Monday. Others scrawled '15' - his jersey number - on their arms.

Reagan Beene
Reagan Beene

Missed: There was an outpouring of grief on social media websites as news of the teen's death spread

Home: Beene lived with his family in Alpharetta, Georgia and was found by relatives after taking his life

Home: Beene lived with his family in Alpharetta, Georgia and was found by relatives after taking his life

Many expressed their shock that Beene had been unhappy and said that he was a positive, popular student who loved playing football and golf.

'Reagan Beene was a friend, a follower, and a child of the most high. He will be dearly missed,' one friend wrote.

Another added: 'You inspire. Your legacy will live bud and you left your mark on this world. Heaven gained a beautiful angel this weekend. We wont let you become a memory.'

One friend wrote: 'Reagan Beene loved to party and he spent his last day doing what he loved.'

MailOnline has requested more information from Alpharetta Police Department regarding his death.

Grieving: Beene was a student at Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia, pictured. Staff expressed their condolences to his family and said counselors would be on hand to speak with students

Grieving: Beene was a student at Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia, pictured. Staff expressed their condolences to his family and said counselors would be on hand to speak with students

Reagan is survived by his parents, Jeffry and Britt, his sisters, Anderson and Mallory, and a brother, Travis. Many uploaded pictures of Beene to Facebook, where friends expressed their sympathies.

His death came just one day after Karl Pierson, a student at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, shot a fellow student and then committed suicide inside the school.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts and need someone to talk to:

In the UK contact The Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90. In the U.S., call 1 (800) 273-TALK for help

Comments (71)

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Schools must educate kids to resolve their psychological issues and how to handle situations in life instead of being helpless and taking their own life or others life !!!

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What on earth is going on here? There's a lot missing in this sad story. RIP

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With regards to sympathy I am on the fence. My older brother committed suicide over a decade ago. This had been preceded by a very emotionally daunting adolescence and young adulthood. Our father died when we were extremely young and my mother 6 years later. Despite growing up with a lot of love and financial stability my brother never could get beyond his anger. When he made it through college, got married and had a child we thought he had beaten his demons. That was not the case and at age 28 he shot himself. There indeed needs to be more focus on our male youth. The quest to raise the confidence of girls has come at the cost of subjugating our boys and making them second class citizens. It's time schools start recognizing the fragile nature of our sons and stop stepping on eggshells for our daughters.

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Ok, gonna get alot of people angry for this buuuuuut the opposing viewpoint must be heard. I am getting tired of all these suicides......... Maybe teaching kids "they are all winners" and removing games where kids can lose and cutting dodgeball out of class is not preparing kids that become teens for reality and they find themselves unable to cope with life. I often wondered if this 90's "new age" way of raising kids did a disservice to them more than helped and looking at the state of teens in the US it sure seems like it is. So many more kids seem critically unable to deal with bullying, disappointment and consequences these days.

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Sorry to say, but this kid sounds like he had more 'issues', than just getting in trouble for having an un - authorized party! Sounds like drugs, or a very, very, deep depression. Such a tragic ending, for someone so young.

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How do we teach our children coping skills. This is so very, very sad¿.

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Suicide helpline. Does it help? Anyone? RIP

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Sad, but there's more this, you can count on it

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A party for his life? No

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There must be more to this story, unfortunately.

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