A 14-year-old Kansas runaway shot herself dead in front of a stunned deputy sheriff — even as the lawman was trying to convince the girl to return to her family.
Jaylee Chillson was at an outdoor party in the rural city of Aurora around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday after the Cloud County Sheriff’s Office received a call that she had run away from home earlier, KAKE-TV News reported.
The deputy tracked Chillson down and was trying to talk her into returning home when she pulled out a gun.
“He was escorting her to his patrol vehicle when she pulled out a firearm and shot herself,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
“The deputy did not draw his firearm. The sheriff’s deputy and an off-duty firefighter attempted life-saving measures but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after midnight,” the statement added.
Chillson’s father called the tragedy “unbearable” in a moving Facebook post.
“She is amazing. Perfect,” Jeb Chillson wrote. “Everything you could ever ask for in a daughter. She’s beautiful. She’s smart. She is our everything. Our hearts our shattering. It’s unbearable. It’s not fair.”
The grieving dad also said he was furious, suggesting that his daughter had been bullied and shunned.
“I’ve read days worth of messages from her ‘friends’ that treated her absolutely awful,” he wrote. “Watched as she was not included with girls on her sports teams. Watched adults on a school level repeatedly fail her. Watched as girls that were once her best friends not even acknowledge her when she would walk by them, and watch a handful of parents who used to gush about her and how amazing she was turn to calling her names and talking badly about her to their kids.
“No one outside of our family and her therapist know what the last year of her life has been like,” he added. “She deserved everything she ever could have wanted in this world.”
Police said several witnesses at the party, which was attended by high school and college students, were interviewed about the incident but no charges were filed.
The sheriff’s office also brought in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to assist in the probe “to ensure impartiality since their deputy was present during the shooting.”
Chillson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, on March 11, 2009, and grew up in Clay Center with her parents, Jeb and Stacie Chillson and fourth brothers, according to her obituary.
“She enjoyed spending time outside in nature hunting, fishing and camping,” the obit said. “Softball was another favorite activity for Jaylee, spending many hours on the field practicing and playing.”
The teen enjoyed riding in her dad’s semi and hoped to become a diesel mechanic. She was also active in the youth group of the Evangelical Covenant Church, her obit said.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.