Mother and two children dead after deliberately going over Niagara Falls

A mother and her two children are believed dead after deliberately crossing Niagara Falls on Luna Island, police said Wednesday.

Chaianti Means, 33, her 9-year-old Roman Rossman and her 5-month-old baby, Mecca Means, crossed a safety guard rail and drove over Niagara Falls, according to a New York State Police news release.

“They are presumed deceased and recovery efforts are underway by the New York State Park Police and the New York State Police, with resources being deployed to the Niagara Falls site and the lower river for the recovery of the body State Trooper James O’Callaghan said. Newsweek via email Wednesday afternoon.

State troopers and the New York State Park Police responded to the incident around 9:00 PM ET on Monday.

“The investigation determined that this incident was intentional in nature, although the circumstances remain under investigation,” state police said in their news release.

Search and rescue efforts, including unmanned aircraft systems and an underwater recovery unit, have so far been unsuccessful, according to police.

Luna Island is a small island between the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls that, together with the Horseshoe Falls, forms the tourist attraction. The deceased family are natives of Niagara Falls, New York.

Murder-suicide on Long Island

Downstate in Syosset, New York, Joseph DeLucia, Jr., 59, shot four of his family members and later himself. an apparent murder-suicide in August.

Police responded to DeLucia’s home after receiving reports of shots fired and found DeLucia’s siblings Joann Kearns, 69, Frank DeLucia, 71, and Tina Hammond, 64, as well as his niece Victoria Hammond, 30, who had recently been fatally shot in the DeLucias’ back lair. deceased mother’s house.

Police determined that DeLucia, who lived with his 95-year-old mother – Theresa Martha DeLucia, before she died just days before the incident – ​​believed he would not receive his inheritance.

“Joseph Jr.’s perception was that he was being cut out of the will and would be displaced without a place to go,” Nassau County Police Detective Stephen Fitzpatrick said at a news conference.

Fitzpatrick added: “He had mental issues, mental health issues, which were reported to us. Because of that perception, he decided that day to purchase a loaded 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, approached them in the rear of the house and fired twelve shots from the kitchen, hitting all four multiple times.”

How common are deaths by suicide?

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022.CDC). That’s 1 death every 11 minutes.

The CDC says 13.2 million adults had seriously thought about suicide, 3.8 million had made a suicide plan and 1.6 million had attempted suicide.

Suicide rates have been on an upward trend for more than two decades, with a decline in late 2010. According to the CDC, suicide rates increased 37 percent from 2000 to 2018, decreased 5 percent from 2018 to 2020, and returned to their peak in 2022.

If you are someone you know needs help, you can reach the National Suicide and Crisis Helpline by calling or texting 988.