Survivor of U.S. Parkland school shooting dies by suicide

Sydney Aiello, who survived a shooting massacre at a high school in U.S. state of Florida in early 2018, has died from suicide, media reported Saturday.

Aiello suffered from survivor's guilt following last year's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which left 17 students and teachers dead, and had recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to CNN, citing her mother, Cara.

Aiello, a 19-year-old student at Florida Atlantic University, died at home last weekend in Coconut Creek, Florida, suffering a gunshot wound to the head, according to local authorities. Her funeral took place on Friday.

Aiello had been in school on Feb. 14, 2018, the day of the mass shooting, but was not in the building where the attack took place, Cara said.

The cheerleader graduated from the high school a month after the shooting, but struggled to attend college classes because she was afraid of being in a classroom, according to media reports.

The shooting that had traumatized Aiello and shaken the nation was carried out by former Stoneman Douglas student Nikolas Cruz, then 19. He was indicted on 17 counts of murder.

Grieving students launched a nationwide movement following the carnage, calling for changes in gun-related policies with the hope of preventing a similar tragedy from happening again.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)