Suicide is on the rise for young Americans. Why?
By Will Vernon
Warning: contains upsetting material.
Katherine and Tony Salas had no idea their son, Ben, was leading a double life.
“In one, he was planning his suicide,” Tony says.
“And in the other life, he was shopping for engagement rings.”
“I wish he would have given us the chance to help him,” says Katherine, her voice breaking.
“That was the hardest part – I had no way of talking him through it.”
Twenty-one-year-old Ben Salas took his own life last April. He was a promising criminology student at North Carolina State University and an aspiring Olympic athlete. He had many friends, a stable relationship and a loving family.
His death was one of 50,000 suicides registered in the US last year – the largest number ever recorded. In second place: 2022, which saw 49,449 suicides.
