The Kennedy family is mourning the tragic loss of Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter, 22-year-old Saoirse Kennedy Hill.
According to The New York Times, Saoirse suffered an apparent overdose on Thursday, Aug. 1 at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. She is the only daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill.
The political family confirmed the news of her death in a statement, which read, "Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love."
Ethel Kennedy, Saoirse's grandmother and the 91-year-old widow of RFK, paid special tribute to her in the statement. It continued, "She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel, who said, 'The world is a little less beautiful today.'"
"She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women's empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever."
The Cape & Islands District Attorney's office confirmed to E! News that emergency personnel rushed to the Kennedy Compound at approximately 3:00 p.m. and transported an "unresponsive female" to Cape Cod Hospital, where "she was pronounced deceased." An autopsy revealed no trauma "inconsistent with lifesaving measures." The cause and manner of death are pending a toxicology report.
Kennedy Hill was enrolled at Boston College, where she reportedly majored in communications and served as the vice president of the College Democrats organization. In March 2018, Kennedy Hill and her mother attended a rally against gun violence. The Barnstable Patriot reported that Courtney took the stage alongside Saoirse, where she reportedly addressed attendees with an anecdote about RFK's 1968 assassination.
"He and I are the product of gun violence, and we are damaged goods" Kennedy Hill said of her father. In quoting her uncle, former President of the United States and fellow gun violence victim John F. Kennedy, she continued, "When one person is killed by gun violence, the whole nation is degraded."
In 2016, Saoirse penned a piece for her school's student newspaper, which touched upon her own struggles with depression and advocated for mental health awareness.
Our thoughts go out to Saoirse's family at this time.