Maura Umble and her son, Alex Patrick Umble.
Maura Umblé
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Maura Umblé
Maura Umble and her son, Alex Patrick Umble.
Maura Umblé
It was an early summer morning in 2018 and Alex Patrick Umble’s family had not heard from him. His mother, Maura Umble, found his absence strange, but she didn’t panic.
“I had an important meeting I had to attend, I thought, so I went to work,” Maura said.
While Maura was at work, her boss was on the phone with the director of public safety at a nearby middle school, who reported to her that a young man had committed suicide on the school’s athletic field.
“My boss came running down the hall, but he didn’t tell me,” Maura said. “He just said, ‘Maura, you need to go home now. You need to go home. Rob needs you home.’ And my boss kissed me on the forehead, which was very weird.”
Once she got home, Maura learned that the reports were about her son. Alex, 24, committed suicide a few days after purchasing a gun.
When talking about gun violence in the United States, people usually think of mass shootings, homicides, or even domestic violence. But in reality, the majority of gun-related deaths in the United States are suicides.
In 2023, more than 42,967 people died from firearm injuries. More than half of these deaths were suicides.
Alex is one of tens of thousands of Americans who commit suicide every year.
A photo of Maura Umble, her son Alex Patrick Umble and their family.
Maura Umblé
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Maura Umblé
A photo of Maura Umble, her son Alex Patrick Umble and their family.
Maura Umblé
Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a research group that advocates for stricter gun laws, says large cities generally have the highest gun death rates. But this trend has started to change. Last year, York, a small town in Pennsylvania, had a higher per capita gun death rate than Philadelphia, Garber said.
“It’s really everywhere right now,” Garber said.
Each year, more than 900 people in Pennsylvania die by firearm suicide and 48 are injured by firearm suicide attempts. Suicides account for the majority of gun deaths in Pennsylvania.
“Most people who attempt suicide are any of us,” Garber said. “They’re going through a crisis, they’ve been laid off, they’re going through a divorce or a bad breakup.”
Paul Nestadt, a psychiatrist and professor at Johns Hopkins University, is one of the nation’s leading researchers on suicide and its causes. He says most people don’t know how common suicide is because we avoid discussing it in our personal relationships and in the media.
“When there’s a mass shooting or homicides, there’s a lot more media coverage, and of course it’s very tragic, but suicides go under the radar a little bit,” Nestadt said. “There’s not as much willingness to talk about it. I think that’s changing. It’s becoming hard to ignore as rates rise.”
Easy access to guns in the United States has also made the problem worse, Nestadt said.
In Pennsylvania, more than 900 people die by firearm suicide each year and 48 are injured by firearm suicide attempts.
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In Pennsylvania, more than 900 people die by firearm suicide each year and 48 are injured by firearm suicide attempts.
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Pills are more often used in suicide attempts, although most attempts involving pills are not fatal. Yet the small fraction of people who use guns to attempt suicide almost never survive.
“Most suicide attempts in the United States are by overdose or poisoning with sleeping pills, Tylenol or opiates,” Nestadt said. “And yet these are generally not fatal. Only about 2 percent of people who attempt an overdose die. But guns, which are used in only about five to 6 percent of attempts, are so deadly that if you have access to it, to a firearm, when that impulse occurs and you use that firearm, the risk of death is 90%.”
Nestadt says the time between the impulse and the act of committing suicide is short.
“A study reveals that 87% of people make this decision and implement it within the same day, or about a quarter of people within 5 minutes.” » said Nestadt. “And so what happens in these impulsive moments is people use what they have. It happens very quickly. If there’s nothing available, the impulse can pass.”
There is another error that Nestadt wants to clear up.
“There’s this myth that if someone is suicidal and is upset in some way or is able to survive the attempt, they’ll just keep trying, they’ll just find another way. But this is not what the data shows,” says Nestadt. “In fact, the majority of people, about 94% of people who survive a serious suicide attempt, go on to survive.”
As with other forms of gun violence, raising awareness about suicide means having conversations about this very sensitive and often uncomfortable topic.
And Maura is committed to speaking openly about how her son’s suicide has affected herself and her family.
Last February, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis announced plans to fund a national gun violence prevention office.
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Last February, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis announced plans to fund a national gun violence prevention office.
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Maura and her family decided to disclose Alex’s struggles with depression in his obituary. She is disappointed that suicide is a taboo subject. However, she also wants to hold local government officials accountable for these conversations. So when Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis announced plans to fund a national gun violence prevention office, she realized there was something missing from the proposal.
“He didn’t mention suicide by gun as part of the problem. I was really disappointed,” Maura said.
She thinks about what she could have done and what the state could have done to prevent Alex’s death. And she struggles to find an answer.
“I really need to give myself a pep talk so that slowly but surely we can make progress,” Maura said. “Maybe it will help the others, even if it wouldn’t have helped Alex.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9-8-8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Ana Perez produced the audio story and HJ Mai edited the audio version. Treye Green edited the digital version.
Ana Perez produced the audio story and HJ Mai edited the audio version. Treye Green edited the digital version.
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