Boy's apparent suicide shocks middle school School officials jump to provide counseling after word of suicide pact BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent Police are investigating whether the apparent suicide of a 15-year-old Lake Riviera Middle School (LRMS) student is an isolated incident or part of a pact among some district students. Schools Superintendent Melindo A. Persi said that News 12 New Jersey contacted him on Oct. 4 to inform him that an anonymous female caller had called the station warning that there were other children in the district contemplating suicide. "The woman was very distraught," Persi said After Persi received the phone call from News 12, he said he contacted the police department, who took the warning very seriously. The police and Persi issued a joint press release with phone numbers for counseling resources for any student at risk and the district used its automated telephone dialing system to notify all parents of the tragedy at LRMS. "We are taking the anonymous call seriously. We are making every effort to speak with any child who may be at risk and to counsel all who have been affected by this tragedy," the press release read. The police have been interviewing students at the middle and high school levels since last Thursday, but have not found any information to corroborate the existence of a pact, officials said. On Oct. 3, police responded to a 911 phone call from a juvenile who reported he found a body hanging in the woods behind the Cedar Wood Park development, said Brick Police Capt. John Rein. The student, whom police declined to identify by name, was an eighth-grader at LRMS. Persi said he was notified of the student's death that evening and immediately called a staff meeting at the middle school at 7 a.m. on Oct. 4. Teachers at Lake Riviera made the announcement of the student's death in their homerooms that day. Counselors from other district schools and the county were on hand to speak with students who needed help, Persi said. "Some kids were crying when they got off the bus," Board of Education President Brian DeLuca said. "When they arrived at school, they already knew, but we were prepared." DeLuca said that any student who needed to go home that day was granted an excused absence. Although school was closed last Friday for a professional development day, counselors were still on hand at Lake Riviera for anyone who needed the services. The Brick Township Police Department has set up a hotline number for any information on the investigation or for any student at risk. The number is (732) 262-1115. If the risk is imminent, call 911. Students and parents in need may also contact Kimball Medical Center Psychiatric Screening Services at (732) 866-4474.