FOLSOM, Calif. A 12-year-old middle-school student in Folsom, Cailf., committed suicide this week and friends and family say relentless anti-gay bullying was the cause because the boy was on the cheerleading squad last year.
Ronin Shimizu died shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Sacramento County coroners office.
Police have not released any additional information regarding Ronins death, other than to say it was non-suspicious, a term they use to describe natural death, accidental death or suicide.
But friends and parents said Ronin took his own life because of ongoing bullying.
Last year, Ronin was in sixth grade at Folsom Middle School and was the only boy on the schools cheerleading squad. Several classmates say Ronin has been called gay ever since.
The bullying got to be so bad, Ronin was taken out of school and had to be home-schooled. He was also being home schooled this year.
He was bullied very badly, Riley Coleman said as she teared up. The Folsom Middle School sixth grader was on the squad with Ronin last year. Its not ok to bully people, she told KXTV .
Neighbor Danii Bello, 14, said Ronin loved cheerleading and liked to make his own clothes.
Daniel Thigpen with the Folsom Cordova School District confirms they did get a number of complaints from Ronins parents, according to KCBS-TV . They say they followed protocol, but friends say the taunting just wouldnt stop.
On Thursday evening, friends and members of the schools cheerleading squad organized a candlelight vigil near Ronins home in Folsom.
Daniel Thigpen with the Folsom Cordova School District confirms they did get a number of complaints from Ronins parents, according to KCBS-TV . They say they followed protocol, but friends say the taunting just wouldnt stop.
Tragic, so horribly tragic. A young boy suffering from verbal abuse by his peers, determines being dead is the solution. Myminds screams, No!, tothe suffering he endured; thegrief his parents face will never be surpassed by any other life event or understood by one who has not lost a child. I weep.
I kind of hope that the bullies will be made aware of them being the cause of this child taking his own life, and these bullies will have to live with t fortherest of their lives...and then teach their own children, that bullying is WRONG!! RIP Young man..
The school just didn't give a damn. It sure seems that way..
I hope these bullies are forced to go to this young man's funeral.
Actually MM, no, the bully's parents don't give a damn. The school advised them of the issue and they did not step in, as parents, to cut the fuse.
Kids have no more heroes they can count on to protect them. There was a day when a person's support system would be capable of handling this sorta situation...an older brother, a Dad, an Uncle...woulda gone and kicked some other kid's Dad's ass, and nipped this shit in the bud. That was then...
If this would have happened to my kid (and similar things DID!) I woulda been pounding on someone's front door and demanding satisfaction and correction, or some dude woulda gotten pulled out to his front yard and gotten himself beat. Yeah and maybe a person gets arrested, but it's worth it.Ruthless but effective.
The whole thing is senseless and inexcusable!!
Kids have no more heroes they can count on to protect them Very sad!
If you weren't such a negative person blue, you would've read the WHOLE comment - the BULLIES' PARENTS - they are at fault. The boy's parents did all they could, but the aggressors and their parents are totally at fault.
Now, THAT, is funny Blue - thanks
But, seriously, thanks for the apology - means a lot.
It really is sad, and tragic. This happens waytoo often. It should NEVER happen.
I hope there is a Law Suit in the making..
the BULLIES' PARENTS - they are at fault.
Exactly. The real pariahs here are the parents. Not sure if they were lazy, stupid or filled to the brim with the right-wing christian hated of homosexuals...maybe all three...but schools can only legally do so much.
Their peers are likely more accepting of them than the parents of their peers. Probably because the parents are too set in their ways and beliefs.
Has always been that way, to some extent, but kids today have more tools to do it with
Exactly.phones, computers...
The general PC solution to bullying is to try and essentially get someone else (teachers, parents, police) to stand up to the bully rather than get the victim to do it. In my opinion and experience, this is a waste of time. Boys bully for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's to intimidate a weaker kid into doing what he wants. Other times it's purely to make fun of someone as entertainment. If you want to be the only boy on a cheerleading team, then you can expect to be ridiculed. To me you have two choices: quit cheerleading or grow a thicker skin (and tell others to kiss your ass).
As a personal experience, my son came home one day from elementary school and complained that his head hurt. When I inquired further, it turned out that his head hurt because the other boys were hitting him in the head. They started off teasing him (for being short/fat) and then escalated to physical abuse when he didn't defend himself. I asked why he didn't defend himself and he said he was afraid to try because he thought they would hit him harder (which I interpreted as he didn't know what to do) and because my wife told him not to fight. My wife wanted to go to the school and solicit their help. I said he can stop this himself and it was my fault for not teaching him how to handle this sooner.
I explained to my wife that he cannot rely on others to defend him and that he has to learn how to defend himself. So I taught my son to fight. Then I told him when to fight (i.e. only when physically attacked or to help someone else who is physically attacked). One or two incidents later, the bullying stopped and he never had trouble again. Self-confidence is the key.
Very good ending..thanks for sharing this!!