The family of a boy who killed himself in 2009 is suing the White Pass School District and claiming that a simple phone call from the district could have prevented his death.

“Nothing is the same without Brian in our lives,” said Denise Reisert, the grandmother of 16-year-old Brian Stephens, who committed suicide in 2009. "They just should have called. It's that simple. A two-minute phone call could have saved his life."

Reisert said that in the days before his death, Stephens passed a note to a girl at White Pass High School that said if his friend committed suicide, he would, too.

That friend did attempt suicide, and the girl told two school counselors about the note from Stephens. According to the lawsuit, a counselor met with Stephens and asked if he was suicidal; he allegedly told the counselors he was not.

The school district never shared any of that information with Stephens’ family, and he shot himself days later.

“I’m really angry. I’m really angry,” Reisert said. “I just feel that my grandson would be alive today if I had gotten that call, that’s how wrong it is…. We would still have him.”

In its response to the lawsuit, the school district denied the warning signs were clear and said the school had no requirement to report the incident to Stephens’ family.