Teen suicides in Palo Alto to be subject of federal study

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Santa Clara County officials have taken the unusual step of asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate a series of suicides by teenagers in the affluent university town of Palo Alto.

The San Jose Mercury News says a five-member team that specializes in suicide prevention is scheduled to arrive in California on Tuesday for meetings with local doctors and community leaders.

The team, which includes representatives from both the CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has been invited to do an epidemiological study on the teen suicide problem that that has anguished Palo Alto for at least seven years.

Six teenagers from the city killed themselves in both 2009 and 2010. Four more ended their lives in both 2014 and 2015.