Bridgeport pays final respects to beloved school security guard who died by suicide
Mourners were at the Luz de Paz Funeral Home to say their final farewells to Isaiah Vicens, better known as "Iceman" to his family and friends.
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More than a thousand people turned out at a Bridgeport funeral home Saturday to remember a 29-year-old school security guard whose family said died by suicide.
Mourners were at the Luz de Paz Funeral Home to say their final farewells to Isaiah Vicens, better known as "Iceman" to his family and friends.
The security guard at Bridgeport's Curiale School was also the owner of the Iceman Martial Arts Academy in Stratford.
"We are so heartbroken by this terrible tragedy, over the loss of this beautiful young man whose life was so filled with promise," said Jorge Cruz, who took classes at Vicens' martial arts school.
"I was sick when I got the news. It was as if the whole world stopped," Cruz said.
Vicens' parents told News 12 he died by suicide in Fairfield on Sunday.
Friend and neighbor Wes Matthews said it felt as though his own son had died.
"That's how deep the grief goes. This isn't something you'll just get over with time. It will always be there," Matthews said.
Vicens' family said they hope public perceptions about suicide and mental health will change, so other lives may be saved going forward.
The family urges anyone who might be thinking about suicide to call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
