School Posts About Bloomfield Student’s ‘Suicide’ On Twitter, Sets Off Controversy

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A father’s decision to identify his 15-year-old daughter’s death as a suicide has set off ripples in the Essex County community, with many people criticizing the deceased student’s high school for revealing her cause of death in a Twitter post.

Police said that Eva Smith of Bloomfield fell from a Nutley bridge overlooking the Garden State Parkway overpass on Friday night and was hit by 2010 Mazda. But while police confirmed Smith as the victim, they declined to label the incident as a “suicide,” stating that an autopsy was slated to determine the cause of death.

• See related article: Details Revealed; Father Grieves In Parkway Death

However, in a much-shared, tear-inducing Facebook video posted at 1:55 a.m. on Saturday, Smith explained the circumstances behind his daughter’s death, identified it as a “suicide” and pleaded for people in similar circumstances to seek help.

• See related article: One Dark Moment: Marine's Suicide Story Hits Hard In South Orange

In the video, Smith, his voice shaky, talked about how his daughter ran away from home.

"Someone in your life is hurting," he said in the video. "Someone in your life is going through something and needs help. Help them. Don't ignore what's going on in that person's life."

The controversy started when Bloomfield High School posted a message of condolence about Smith’s death on Twitter around 6:25 a.m. on Saturday, specifically using the term suicide to describe the incident.

“Very sad news for the Bengal community: sophomore Eva Smith committed suicide last night. School will be open tomorrow at 12 for counseling.”

The school’s social media post set off a flurry of angry comments, with many calling the post inappropriate, even though it came out after Smith posted his own video.

• “I'm sorry but this seems a wildly inappropriate thing to tweet.”
• “This is a very serious situation and the way this was announced was incredibly inappropriate and insensitive.”
• “An email or letter sent out to parents and students with a better understanding would be a lot more mature for this.”
• “’Suicide’ is not something students want to be scrolling through on their Saturday mornings.”
• “Please tell me this isn't the official Twitter handle for BHS?”

However, some commenters spoke up in support of the school’s post.

• “A girl died from our school and the school is trying to bring awareness? Seems responsible to me, instead of keeping everyone from it.”

Bloomfield High issued a follow up post a few hours later: “Thoughts and prayers of the BHS community are with the Smith family.”

What do you think? Was it OK for Bloomfield High School to call Smith’s death a “suicide” in their social media post? Take our reader poll below.

Photo courtesy of Eva Smith's family

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