A 17-year-old boy died by suicide on Oct. 21 at the Tulsa Boys' Home after taking an off-duty police officer's weapon during an archery class.

The teenager grabbed the officer's gun from its holster and shot himself during the class, according to police. The officer was volunteering his time to teach archery to the young men at the facility.

The tragedy has devastated friends and families connected to the Boys' Home, including Wyatt Park, who was friends with the victim. His mother, Heather Park, described the difficulty of helping her son process the loss.

"It was very hard for us to try and explain the situation to him and to explain depression and things like that to someone his age," Park said. "He just doesn't understand the thought processes that go into these things."

Wyatt has

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