CALIFORNIA: 12 Year-Old Boy Cheerleader Commits Suicide Over Anti-Gay Bullying

A twelve- year-old California boy has reportedly committed suicide following anti-gay bullying because he enjoyed being a cheerleader for his middle school.

Ronin Shimizu, a former student at Folsom Middle School in Folsom, California, took his life on Wednesday afternoon but police are not releasing any further details about his death. The school district has confirmed that the boy's parents, who also have a younger son, complained on multiple occasions that he was being bullied and officials said that they followed protocol. But friends say that the taunting continued. He recently left Folsom Middle School to be home schooled. On Thursday night, friends and their parents gathered outside the Shimizu home to hold a quiet candle light vigil. "I heard that people called him gay because he was a cheerleader," one of his teammates told CBS Sacramento at the vigil. Ronin was the only male cheerleader with the Vista Junior Eagles Cheer Team. Daniel Thigpen with the Folsom Cordova School District said that officials were looking into the complaints made by the boy's family. "Any allegations of bullying related to this specific incident, we're certainly reviewing how we responded to those and we'll use that as an opportunity to always take a look at how we respond to future allegations," he said. Grief counselors are at the school to help students and staff. The Vista Jr Eagles, the team Ronin had cheered for, also released a statement as they shared photos of the young, grinning boy in his cheer uniform.

Many photos are the link above.


(Tipped by JMG reader Roman)