10-year-old boy with bowel condition hangs himself after being bullied in school about how he smelled
A 10-year-old fifth-grade boy took his own life after his classmates made fun of him for needing a colostomy bag. 10-year-old Seven Bridges hanged himself in a closet in his family home on January 19, authorities said.
Tami Charles, his mother, was the one who found his body when she returned home after a trip to the grocery store at about 10:30 am. She spoke to a local media outlet and said: "I saw my son dead. That’s something in my head."
Donnie Bridges, the child's father, was at a church choir practice when his son took his own life. He told WHAS-TV: "For the few minutes that we left, he didn't want us to see that." WDRB-TVreported that both the parents said that they "absolutely" intend to sue Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS).
Tami and Donnie have said that their son was a victim of regular bullying at Kerrick Elementary School. The devastated mother said: "JCPS: You all failed my baby." A spokesperson for the school district, Renee Murphy, said that it plans to "launch a full investigation" into how the administrators in the school handled any complaints made by the family. Murphy said: "We are devastated by this. Our hearts are breaking for this family. The school community is hurting right now."
Murphy also said that a crisis team was available at the school in order to counsel students and faculty on January 22, which was the first day back at school from the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Tami told WLKY-TV: "We just wanted to raise a happy kid, live our lives and be OK."
Seven had been born with a colon condition and it forced him to go through 26 different surgeries in his short life. When he was born, he was fitted with a colostomy bag. A colostomy is a surgical procedure where doctors make an opening in the large intestine and then connect it to the abdominal wall. This then becomes the opening through which bowel movements leave the body.
Tami and Donnie said that their son was made fun of in school because of his condition, which tended to cause an unpleasant odor at times. The mother said: "We would talk to him about having new friends and a new start. He just had to get to the end of the year."
In August last year, Tami said that her son was choked and called a n***** while he was on the school bus. She also said that Seven lost consciousness during the incident after he was choked into it by a white boy. The boy was taken to the hospital after he complained of dizziness and the doctors there performed a CT scan.
The furious mother has raised the issue with school officials who then opened an investigation into the alleged incident. Donnie then told WLKY-TV: "We found that the school system had a lot of holes and a lot of inconsistencies with their policies about bullying. They stood on the verbal message, the lip service of zero tolerance, but they did not deliver." The results of that investigation are still not known and the school is yet to make a comment.
Murphy said: "We can’t get into student discipline at this time, and again, we’re going to be reviewing everything to see how we handled things on our end. When complaints were made, I can tell you they were addressed. But again, we will have a full investigation, a full review to see exactly what happened and if all the policies and procedures were followed."
Tami said that her son never fought back in a verbal or physical way to her bullies. His father said: "Seven knew the lord. He knew right from wrong. We instilled that in him at a young age. He went to church." The mother also said that Seven would diligently pray for his bullies every night.
In the weeks leading to his death, Tami had found Seven sobbing uncontrollably on his bed because his friends had begun to alienate him after the bullying incident had been reported to the school authorities. "He was labeled a "snitch" by some of his classmates and some teachers “started treating him differently,” she said.
When asked what message she wanted to give the children who bullied him, she said: "Forgive yourself. Seven did. He forgave you already. He found his peace; it's time for you to find yours." Friends and family of the child will be holding a special gathering in Seven's honor at Shively Park in Louisville on January 26 at 3 p.m.
Balloons will be released in his memory and a wake will be held on February 1 at Bates Memorial Chapel from 6 to 9 p.m. The funeral will take place in the same chapel on February 2 at 2 p.m. The family also set up a GoFundMe page to help support them with funeral and burial expenses.