UK:Russell Ward, public death and private pain

Man kills himself in Woolworths
21 September 2007, 14:28 GMT 15:28 UK

Woolworths has offered counselling to Penzance staff

A man brandishing a knife slashed himself across the throat in a Cornish town's Woolworths store.

Penzance shoppers fled in panic as the man entered the store at about 1500 BST on Thursday.

An ambulance service spokesman said the 23-year-old local man died within minutes after sustaining self-inflicted arm and throat injuries.

A police spokesman called it "horrific for everyone watching". Nobody else was involved in the incident.

Died 'in minutes'

According to a South West Ambulance spokesman the man entered the store and began walking up and down the aisles waving the knife about.

Woolworths staff quickly cleared customers from the shop and alerted the police and ambulance services.

By the time an ambulance crew arrived at the scene, the man had slashed his throat and had already died.

The ambulance spokesman added said: "Unfortunately the man died within minutes."

A spokeswoman for Woolworths said the store would remain closed on Friday.

She said: "Yesterday's events were extremely disturbing for our colleagues and our priority now is to ensure their welfare and we are supporting them in every way possible.

"We will only reopen the store when we feel it is right to do so and our staff will have our ongoing support."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7005929.stm

His name was Russel Ward. The other day I received and email from a member of his family. The accounts in the papers were not the whole story. According to the family, there were many people in his life who tired to help him. He did not go into combat, but had a war going on in his own mind.

Those who knew (him) will remember him as a kind, and gentle soul, who was never at ease with himself, and not the rampant knifeman, that helped to sell a few more papers.

The email went on to say

This was a very traumatic event, for anyone who tried to help (Russ), but the stories in the papers made a loaf, out of a grain of truth. These exaggerated accounts were then put out, in their internet editions, then finding it's way, onto numerous other sites, across the world.

The police confirmed, at the inquest, that he did not waive a knife, or threaten any one. Nor did shoppers flee in panic, as the store was very quiet at the time. The only mention at the inquest, of any other shoppers, were two elderly ladies who were ushered out, but were not witnesses. The incident took place, at the back of the shop, There was one witness, and Russ had his back to him, at the moment of wounding himself.

For the record, the verdict was an open one, as it is not certain he was aware of his actions at the time.

When people suffer from mental illness, we look at only the person with it, usually in apprehension, tending to read more about what they do, than what they go thru. We hardly ever read about the families who love them, try to help them, or of the medical workers who have dedicated their lives toward helping them live the best life possible.

There is a saying in the media "if it bleeds, it leads" and reports like this event at Woolworth's in the UK managed to do just that. Where are the headlines reading that someone is living with mental illness and overcoming the ravages inside of them because of love and medical care? Where are the stories about the families left to wonder what more they could have done to prevent something like this or answers for them or assurance that steps would be taken to try to prevent someone else from taking their own life?

Russel Ward had a family who loved him and had people trying to help him. He was, like so many, someone we will never know, unless the family tells their story to us. In this case, a family member did.

Too may will feel shame after someone they love lost their battle with mental illness. What they do not understand is that if they do not tell their stories, there will be many more dealing with the same painful results. The information they provide will assist in causing things to change for the better.

If you have a family member who committed suicide or attempted to, please consider telling their story as someone who knew them and loved them. Let's work together to eliminate the stigma of mental illness so that others may live a better life. Answers will only be found if we fight for them.