A 14-year-old Cambridge High School freshman killed himself a day after police were called to an underage drinking party he threw at his parent’s home.
Reagan Beene of Milton died Saturday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, investigators from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday.
About 8 p.m. Friday, Milton police responded to a call of about a dozen kids “drinking beer and smoking weed” on the front lawn of a home, according to a report from the department. When officers arrived, police did not see anyone in the yard, but several boys and girls were scurrying through the home, authorities said. Two teens, a boy and girl, jumped from a bedroom window and across the fairway of a nearby golf course, police said.
Once inside the house, authorities said “numerous empty cans of beer were found in a trash can in the basement along with an empty Budweiser beer box.”
Beene’s parents were out of town during the incident, according to the report. The teen was left with his 20-year-old sister, who was at the home during the party. Police instructed the young woman to “call her mother or father and advise them that her brother is having an underage drinking party at their home,” authorities said.
By the end of the incident, 10 teens, all 14- and 15-years-old, were issued tickets to appear in Fulton County Family Court. Nine kids were released to a parent, and Beene was left at the home with his sister.
Authorities said Beene shot himself the next day.
Since Saturday, people have flooded Twitter and Instagram with anecdotes about Beene and prayers for his family.
Cambridge High principal Ed Spurka sent an email message to parents alerting them of the teen’s death.
“It is with great sadness that I send this message to our community,” he wrote. “Cambridge High School mourns the loss of one of our beloved 9th graders, Reagan Beene. We express our deepest sympathy to the Beene family; our thoughts and prayers are with them in this time of grief.”
Counselors were at the school Monday. If necessary, counselors will be available through the end of the week, said Susan Hale, spokeswoman for Fulton County Schools.
A memorial service for Beene will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Stonecreek Church in Milton, according to an online obituary.
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