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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 5, 1993                   TAG: 9301050142
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV 2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley Bureau (staff)
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

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GIRL, 12, TAKES OWN LIFE WITH GUN

A 12-year-old girl fatally shot herself Saturday, marking the second time in 10 weeks that a Christiansburg Middle School student has committed suicide with a gun.

Jessica L. Collins went into a bedroom and family members heard a loud noise about 1:30 p.m., Christiansburg police said.

An uncle found her slumped on a waterbed with a .44-caliber Magnum lying nearby. She was shot in the face. A suicide note was found, police said.

The gun the girl used had been kept in a closet on a shelf, Lt. Doug Marrs said.

Funeral services will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at the Community Christian Church in McCoy.

In October, Lucas J. Riley, also 12, died after shooting himself with a rifle at his home in Christiansburg.

Keywords:
FATALITY

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