9-year-old US boy kills himself over homosexual bullying at school

DENVER, COLORADO - A nine-year-old boy in the United States has killed himself after being bullied for being homosexual at his school in Denver, Colorado.

His mother, Ms Leia Pierce, said that her son, Jamel Myles, had revealed to her over the summer that he was gay and wanted to go to school and tell his classmates because he was "proud" to be homosexual, the BBC reported.

He had begun attending fourth grade at the Joe Shoemaker Elementary School on Aug 20, she said. His body was found at home on Thursday, Ms Pierce said. The police are investigating the death as a suicide.

"My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school told him to kill himself," Ms Pierce said. "I'm just sad he didn't come to me. I'm so upset that he thought that was his option."

Ms Pierce said that when he told her he was gay, he had looked "so scared". However, she had reassured him that she still loved him.

Denver Public Schools (DPS) said that crisis counsellors had been made available to students at Jamel's school. The school system sent letters to families of students on Friday about the additional counselling services for students.

The letter said that Jamel's death was "an unexpected loss for our school community" and told parents of signs of stress to watch for in their children.

"Our goal is to partner with you in sharing this news with your child in the most appropriate way possible, with as much support as may be needed, so please feel free to reach out about how you want to handle this."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.