Mom: 9-Year-Old Killed Himself After Being Bullied for 4 Days

The Denver Police Department is investigating a Thursday death in the city as a suicide, and the deceased is a child. KDVR reports on the death of 9-year-old Jamel Myles; mom Leia Pierce says her son started fourth grade at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School last Monday and took his own life in their home over bullying after just four days. The Denver Channel cites the county coroner's office, which on Monday said Jamel died by hanging around 11pm Thursday.

Pierce says Jamel told her he was gay over the summer; she says her reaction was a loving and accepting one, and she says he told her "he was gonna tell people [at school] he's gay because he's proud of himself." The Denver Post reports Jamel went to his first day of school wearing fake fingernails, per Pierce. She alleges the reaction was a brutal one, saying Jamel told his older sister that some kids urged him to kill himself, something Pierce says she only learned about after his death. The Washington Post asked the district if it knew of any bullying and got this response from Denver Public Schools: "Our priority right now is to look at all the concerns raised in this case, to keep all our students safe and to do a fair and thorough review of the facts surrounding this tragic loss." (More bullying stories.)