A 9-year-old boy who, according to his
mother, became the target of bullies after he came out gay has killed
himself.
According to local television station
KDVR-TV,
Jamel Myles came out to his mother over the summer.
Myles' mother, Leia Pierce, said that
he looked “so scared when he told me.”
“He was like, 'Mom, I'm gay,' and I
thought he was playing, so I looked back because I was driving, and
he was all curled up, so scared. And I said, 'I still love you,'”
Pierce said.
She added that her son had expressed an
interest in dressing more feminine.
Myles started fourth grade at Denver's
Joe Shoemaker Elementary School on Monday.
“He went to school and said he was
gonna tell people he's gay because he's proud of himself,” Pierce
said.
She said she found her son dead at
their home on Thursday, four days after he told classmates that he
was gay.
“Four days is all it took at school,”
Pierce said. “My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school
told him to kill himself. I'm just sad he didn't come to me. I'm so
upset that he thought that was his option.”
“We should have accountability for
bullying,” she added. “I think the parents should be held
[accountable], because obviously the parents are either teaching them
to be like that, or they're treating them like that.”