COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — The father of a 15-year-old boy, who took his own life two weeks ago, created a facebook video on the day his son died to mourn his son and denounce bullying.
“I turned my facebook to public and it went viral,” Brad Lewis said.
Lewis claims his son Jordan was bullied at Carterville High School, in Cambria, Ill., about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. He says he found out about about the bullying only a few weeks before Jordan shot himself.
“Today my son took his life with a shotgun shot to his chest,” Lewis` video starts.
Lewis recorded the video just hours after he learned his son was dead. The video has gone viral and has been the subject of news reports across the U.S. and even in Europe.
Two weeks after Jordan’s suicide, the video is also bringing postings from people claiming to be students or former students who had seen Jordan bullied, or had been bullied themselves in the same school.
Lewis says he is haunted by the fact that Jordan’s suicide came just one day after Carterville students were shown an anti-bullying presentation that included pictures of children who died, presumably by suicide, as the result of bullying.
“Yes, it would give the idea to some kids that alright, these are real kids but with other kids who are in a dark place, they are going to say that`s me, I am in that position and I don`t have no other way to go,” Lewis said.
Carterville Schools are not commenting on the story, saying they intend to distribute a lengthy press release next week explaining their version of the events leading up to Jordan`s suicide.It is unclear if the school was aware that Jordan felt bullied.
In the meantime, Lewis has started another Facebook page dedicated to anti-bullying information.
“I am not going to be able to see him get married, have kids, maybe even do something important in life,’ Lewis said. ‘I guess he wanted to voice his opinion about what was going on and maybe (he thought) this was his only way to do it.”
“I am going to make sure his voice is heard.”
No comments:
Post a Comment