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A 13-year-old North Carolina boy whose on-campus death sent shockwaves through the community this week took his own life after being bullied, his family says.
Austin Pendergrass, an eighth-grader at Wendell Middle School, was found dead on campus Tuesday morning, prompting school officials to send students home due to what was initially labeled a “medical crisis.”
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The boy’s family has now confirmed that he died of suicide.
“The signs were there but the bullying, it was so bad. Just teach your kids to be kind because kids can be so cruel,” Jessica Pendergrass, Austin’s mom, said in comments quoted by local outlet CBS17.
Family and friends gathered for a vigil on Wednesday night to pay tribute to the eighth-grader, donning his favorite color: red.
“I just wish Austin knew all these people were here to support [him],” his mother was quoted telling WRAL, adding: “I just wish he didn’t feel so alone.”
She said she hoped his death would “bring some awareness to other parents, to check on their kids, be mean, go through their social media, go through their phones, find out what’s going on. Teach their kids to be kind to other kids, even if they’re different.”
“And just hug your kids a little tighter,” she said.
His aunt, Jessica Harris, also referenced bullying, telling the news outlet, “It’s such a shame that my nephew had to encounter what he did going to the school” and that “the school failed him.”
“It’s really sad that he left us, and we will forever cherish all the memories, but unfortunately nothing is going to bring our baby back. Nothing,” she said.
Wake County officials have said they are looking into the bullying allegations, but no further details about it were immediately available.
His on-campus death occurred the same day school officials met to discuss suicide awareness for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
