On a late Wednesday afternoon in May, a 9-year-old boy stepped off his Barrow County school bus, walked into his house, took a gun from the closet and shot himself in the head.

The third grader in the small community of Winder, nestled between Atlanta and Athens, became the 16th child in Georgia to kill himself since the beginning of February.

Georgia is on track for what could be a record number of youth suicides this year. Read the full story at myajc.com

In less than two months, 14 children in Georgia have killed themselves, a disturbing number that suggests a record.

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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, seen here in a file photo from Nov. 14, 2024, is conducting a statewide audit of voter registrations targeting registrations at businesses and P.O. boxes for possible cancelation. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com