ME Reports 10 Suicides for 2012 in La Mesa, 4 By Firearm

Story written by field editor Shauntel Lowe.

Ten people are reported to killed themselves in La Mesa last year, four by firearm, the most common suicide method in San Diego County. 

In addition, there were 10 suicides in Spring Valley, five of them by firearm.

That's a small portion of the 413 suicides in the county. The total gave the region its highest suicide rate since 1997, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's recent annual report and data requested by Patch for several local communities.

Of the 413 who took their own lives in San Diego County last year, 148 used a firearm.

The county's suicide rate has risen for three years in a row after dropping in 2010. Now the rate stands at 13.1 suicides per 100,000 people, the highest rate since 1997.

The 413 deaths are described as an all-time high in the report, which includes data back to 1988.

Here's a look at San Diego County suicides in 2012 by the numbers:

• 69: Number of men ages 45-54 who killed themselves, the most in a single age/sex group.
• 85 or over: Age of the men's grouping with the highest suicide rate. 
• 21.2: Rate of suicide among white people, the highest of any ethnicity.