Ashley Duncan, a troubled former student at Bellaire High School in Texas, committed suicide after writing a series of posts on Twitter and Tumblr about how she wanted to end her life. She was 17.

I finally got a gun, Duncan tweeted on Monday after posting a picture of a revolver on her Twitter page. Investigators believe she ended her life with the same gun, the Daily Mail reported.

Duncan's tweet didn't alarm her friends enough for them to act; most of them thought she was joking.

I didn't exactly pay attention to it because she would always play around, Theresa Sosa told KHOU in Houston. I never thought she was serious.

According to her friends, she was a popular student at Bellaire and had thousands of followers on her Twitter and Tumblr Pages. Prior to her suicide she wrote some dark posts on her Tumblr blog.

Life ain't worth the pain. If you know or have known what it feels like to want to die every minute second hour day week month year then you feel me.... I might not struggle financially but I struggle emotionally and mentally and I think that's the worst struggle, she wrote on Sunday.

So in asking why can't it be my choice to die now? ... I'm miserable. One day I won't be here anymore and that'll be the happiest day of my life... I'm tired and I'm done with this life.

On the same day she tweeted, it's like God is torturing me by keeping me here.'The only thing that made me happy is gone...I'm miserable.

The thing she is referring to is not clear, but another post found on her blog suggests it had something to do with a breakup from a love interest.

My heart is broken. I'm not picking up the pieces and I'm not gonna rely on anybody to put my heart back together. It's just that destroyed, she had written.

Suicide prevention advocate Bill Berger told KHOU that tweeting and texting have replaced talking, which adds to the struggle of troubled teens.

In the olden days, you had to talk face to face. Now we have this wall of protection called the Internet and I think it's easier for people to release their feelings.

Dozens have posted their condolences on Duncan's Twitter page:

I just read ashley Duncan tumblr and just felt so sad..its crazy how someone thinks these though and noone noticed it. a user known as osamabin_leenin wrote.

Another user, PattyChacon, wrote, A lot of people use social media 2 release,vent,seek support if u think some1 is calling 4 help, help! RIP @kingjadine.

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