Oregon teen stabs himself to death on stage during open mic night

Teenager stabs himself to death onstage at open mic night in front of shocked crowd at coffee shop

Apparently this happened last Thursday, but this was the first I had heard of it.

An Oregon teenager shocked a crowd at a coffee shop last week when he stabbed himself to death on stage after singing at an open mic night.

Kipp Rusty Walker, 19, took the stage at Strictly Organic Coffee in the town of Bend, Or. on Thursday to perform a song he called "Sorry for the Mess."

When he finished playing, he pulled out a knife with a double-edged 6 inch blade and stabbed himself multiple times in the chest in front of a confused crowd of roughly 15 people.

I can easily understand how the crowd could think that it was just part of the show, when he first started. To do that as an act, in front of only 15-20 people wouldn't be very normal, but many performers do all sorts of strange acts on stage.

Apparently this wasn't real surprising to some.

A friend of his, who did not want to be identified, told Oregon’s NewsChannel 21 Walker's death did not come as much of a surprise because the teenager had contemplated suicide before and even planned to kill himself in a public place.

"I've been preparing for it for a while, I'm sad about it, but I think I'm in shock, it's like a whirlwind of emotions," the friend said. "It was almost like he wanted to prove a point, like there's no point in being scared of death because it's going to happen to us anyway."

Walker first tried to take his own life on Mar. 20th, the friend said, who helped to have him hospitalized at the psychiatric unit of St. Charles Medical Center-Bend.

I don't know anything about the song, such as the lyrics, but I would assume that this was his plan when he wrote a song, and titled it 'Sorry For The Mess.' The lyrics most likely, give clues that he was going to do this. It seems that he was not trying to keep it a secret.

New York Daily News
Macomb Daily

Why should you have much to say? Are you intimately involved somehow? Or is it that you think what you have to say is important?

As an artist i can see a sad sort of irony to this, its the ulimate expression to a situation that seems out of control.
his choice of poem fits the way he killed himself, leaving a mess im sure.

it makes me think of Socrates for some reason

i feel sorry for this, so dont think i dont from the way i interpret it.

Originally posted by ossminid
Why should you have much to say? Are you intimately involved somehow? Or is it that you think what you have to say is important?

I am unclear as to what the reasoning is behind your question. Was it meant to be humorous? I had just read the article. I then copied parts of it, and started a thread about it. Then I read a little bit more and did say something about it. I added the part about the song.

What is your point?

Did he win???
I bet no one could bet that act

he was just a very selfish guy imo, selfish as he did not think of the people that this action may have affected for life.

his family and the people who witnessed this event happen.

Originally posted by lewman
he was just a very selfish guy imo, selfish as he did not think of the people that this action may have affected for life.

his family and the people who witnessed this event happen.

a bit like all the selfish bankers and money hungry politicians who rape the land and kill for oil, we have to watch that too and it will affect us for life.. he isnt selfish, he was just lost and no one cared anymore..

reply to post by BrokenCircles


I know it's bad form, but you do really have to accept the premise as one of the funniest things you can get -

Teenager goes on stage to perform "Sorry about the mess" and continues to stab them self to death.

Shame, that's a very clever mind lost...

If nothing else, a random stranger had to smile at the idea, not knowing the whys or whatfors..

reply to post by ossminid


Shame on you for writing a stupid one liner as the first reply on a perfectly organised thread, go take a look in the mirror and repeat the words: moron.

Thanks OP for bringing this incredible, devestating and yet somehow inspiring suicide to our attention. Do what thou wilt shalt be the whole of the law' This guy took it to the extreme, rest in peace my friend.
namaste.

Originally posted by lewman
he was just a very selfish guy imo, selfish as he did not think of the people that this action may have affected for life.

his family and the people who witnessed this event happen.

Oh please, I'm so sick of people saying suicide is selfish. Living a life and sucking it out of others is selfish.

It's NOT selfish, we all die, what rule is there that were are supposed to drag it out as long as possible in order to win the "I lived a crap life" award?

It's only selfish if someone takes something away - a child, another, etc. But as for the sole purpose of the person who's done it, to say they are selfish is ridiculous - they are the ones who had to get to that damn stage, so obviously any help was not available in sufficient amounts.... GOd I damn know that....

I love how people who have wonderful lives say it's selfish... but never bat an eye otherwise.

So, did his friend do anything to prevent it?

Originally posted by Somehumanbeing
So, did his friend do anything to prevent it?

Walker first tried to take his own life on Mar. 20th, the friend said, who helped to have him hospitalized at the psychiatric unit of St. Charles Medical Center-Bend.

NYDaily News
I don't see anywhere that it says how long he was in the hospital. One could say that he shouldn't of been released, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to fool the doctors, if you want to bad enough.

I've heard songs that made me want to scratch my eyeballs out but this takes the cake!
It takes something unique in a person to plunge a knife into one's own chest not once, but multiple times
It's really sad but anyone that unstable was either gonna off themselves or somebody else.

That's too bad for the family especially. Obviously he had some expressive talent within music and could have channeled it in a more positive way. Must have somehow felt either neglected or alone and just wanted attention. There's just no telling of the root cause sometimes.

I personally feel that suicide is a cop-out to dealing with the ride of life on lifes terms....just my 2 cents....

Thoughts go out to the ones that cared for him personally.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

For some reason, I hadn't even thought of it in that way. It would be hard enough to do it once. Almost impossible to know exactly what he was thinking, and the frame of mind he was in, but I don't think I could do it. Even if I wanted to and had it in me to do the first jab, the reality of actually feeling the pain, would probably cause me to chicken out.

It definitely takes alot of something (not sure what), to stand there and do it repeatedly.

reply to post by badw0lf

No one said suicide in itself is selfish. However, I agree that making such a public spectacle of it, which is bound to scar others, is indeed a particularly selfish means of suicide.

EDIT: I think I should also make it clear that I'm just defending lewman's comment which I think was perfectly valid, not looking down at the teenager - I think it would be disrespectful to speak ill of the dead so soon. He clearly had issues that sadly hadn't been resolved, and it's definitely a tragic event for all concerned

reply to post by sprocket2cog


Even as a non-artist I see the irony.. "Sorry for the mess" then stabs himself in the chest, which would have produced an enormous mess of blood.

It's kinda funny.. and he'd want us to laugh at the irony.

Must have been traumatizing for the crowd though.. Oregon's a weird state, it took me a whole week of living here to come to that conclusion.

reply to post by Rockpuck

I love irony, but I don't see anything ironic here. I think that he wrote the song, but even if he didn't then he still chose to play that particular song. He had probably been working the idea around in his head for quite awhile. If he did write this song, then it is possible that he wrote it specifically to use it in this manner.

That's some hardcore GG Allin shizz right there! GG always wanted to kill himself onstage on Halloween but he died of an OD first. Not that I'd expect a bunch of people who obsess over Lady Gaga songs/lyrics to know who a true rebel like GG was....

Was it recorded? I'm not going to feel sorry...I can at least say that I would have appreciated his artistic touch, even if it is well...unconventional.