Twitter users from all over the world reacted so strongly to a Canadian teenager’s suicide threat that they may have helped save her life.
“I’m gonna attempt suicide tonight. Bye everyone,” the teenage girl from Calgary tweeted Sunday night. “My last wishes are that my siblings finish school and become emergency responders.
That’s when a journalist, formerly of WTVR-TV in Northern Virginia, quickly took action.
“I happen to sympathize with people with depression because I’ve struggled with that kind of feeling myself,” Christopher Wiggins, 33, told WUSA9. “I couldn’t live with myself had I not reached out.”
Mr. Wiggins said he stayed up all night trying to talk the girl down online. Once he got her phone number, he called the Calgary police department to report it.
Officers told WUSA9 they had received alerts from people across the country.
“In this case, Twitter saved someone’s life period,” Mr. Wiggins said. “Twitter allowed the police, the public and the media to work together and confirm … someone in need.”
Officials wouldn’t provide many details about the case, but said they checked on the girl and that she was well, the Daily Mail reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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