DENVER — Leia Pierce shuffled out the front door on Tuesday. Her son, Jamel Myles, 9, had killed himself last week, and she was still struggling with the basics. Eating. Sleeping. “I took a shower, but I put the same clothes back on,” she said, staring at the ground. “I need him back.” Jamel, a fourth grader at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School in Denver, hanged himself in his bedroom last Thursday, according to the county coroner, and his death has plunged a mother into despair and a community into disbelief. Ms. Pierce says her son committed suicide after a year in which he and his older sister were bullied frequently at school. Over the summer, he had told his mother he was gay. Now, she is angry at the school, which she believes should have done more to stop the taunts and insults. Will Jones, a spokesman for Denver Public Schools, said administrators planned to conduct a thorough review of the case. “We are deeply committed to our students’ well-being,” he said in a statement.<doc-sep>A young boy has killed himself just four days into the new school year after being bullied for coming out as gay, his mother claims. Jamel Myles, 9, was found dead at his family's home in Denver on Thursday. He only started fourth grade at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School on Monday. 'Four days is all it took at school,' his mother Leia Pierce told KDVR. 'I could just imagine what they said to him.' 'My baby killed himself,' Pierce's mother, she continued. 'He didn't deserve this. He wanted to make everybody happy even when he wasn't. I want him back so bad.' Leia Pierce (left) found her nine-year-old son Jamel Myles (right) dead at their home in Denver last Thursday Pierce says her son had come out to her as being gay a few weeks ago. 'And 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. Pierce said her son wanted to tell his classmates that he was gay because he had accepted himself. He also said he wanted to begin dressing more femininely. 'He went to school and said he was gonna tell people he's gay because he's proud of himself,' she added. But within days of telling his classmates about his sexual orientation, Pierce discovered her son dead at home. 'I'm so upset that he thought that was his option,' 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.' Jamel only started fourth grade at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School on Monday Pierce says her son (left and right) had come out to her as being gay a few weeks ago Pierce (pictured with her son) said her heart was broken over the loss of her son who loved dressing up in a dress and tiara, and dreamed of becoming a YouTube star A coroner's report released on Monday confirmed the cause of death was suicide. The Denver Police Department is investigating the death. Denver Public School officials sent a letter to parents on Friday to inform them of the tragic death and said they will be providing grief counselors. 'It's always tough when a little one takes his life,' DPS spokesman Will Jones told The Denver Post. 'We have our crisis team there.' Meanwhile, Pierce said her heart was broken over the loss of her son who loved dressing up in a dress and tiara, and dreamed of becoming a YouTube star. 'I'm dead inside. He was beautiful. He was magic. I lost my greatest gift,' she said. She is calling for more 'accountability' over bullies. 'I think the child should (be held accountable) because the child knows it's wrong. The child wouldn't want someone to do it to them. I think the parent should be held (accountable) because obviously the parents are either teaching them to be like that, or they're treating them like that,' she said. If you are experiencing suicical feelings, call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255.<doc-sep>The boy had just begun fourth grade at a school in Colorado. A 9-year-old boy in Colorado killed himself on Thursday after his mother said he was bullied for coming out as gay. Jamel Myles had just begun fourth grade at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School. Jamel's mother, Leia Pierce, told ABC News that her son had come out over the summer. "My son was nervous to tell me he was gay. He told me at 9. I was driving, I looked back at him and said, "I still love you son," she recalled. "He is my sunshine ... he is my baby." The school said it's investigating the bullying allegations. "We are deeply committed to our students’ well-being," said Will Jones, director of media relations for Denver Public Schools. "That commitment is at the core for all educators in DPS, which is a safe and welcoming environment. 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." The school said it's providing social workers and counseling to students. The Denver Police Department confirmed Jamel's death was a suicide and said it's continuing to investigate the circumstances, which appear non-criminal at this time. For those experiencing depressions or suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-273-8255.<doc-sep>HOLLYWOOD - JUNE 20: Actor Kristoff St. John accepts the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series during the 35th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on June 20, 2008 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 10: Actress Kim Porter attends the premiere screening of Amazon Original Special 'An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has To Win' at Pacific Theatres at The Grove on October 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) LONDON - MARCH 15: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) Jeremy Hardy attends the premiere of 'The Age of Stupid' held in a solar powered tent in Leicester Square on March 15, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Fergus McDonald/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 16: busbee attends Spotify's Secret Genius Awards hosted by NE-YO at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on November 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Spotify) FILE PHOTO: Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant jumps for a rebound against the Denver Nuggets during Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, May 21, 2009. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Story highlights Jamel Myles died by suicide Thursday His mother said he recently came out as gay and was bullied at school (CNN) — A 9-year-old boy in Colorado took his life days after starting the fourth grade last week. He had recently come out as gay to his mother, who believes that bullying was a factor in his death, she told HLN’s Mike Galanos on Tuesday. “The same kids who picked on him last year were even meaner to him once he came out and said he was gay,” said Leia Pierce, Jamel Myles’ mother. “They hurt my baby.” Denver Police said that Jamel’s death appears to be a suicide. Though suicides rates for those under 13 are far lower than for teens and adults, experts have looked closely at a rise in deaths in recent years – and what makes suicide-related behavior different for young children. “Impulsivity plays a big role in the suicidal behavior of young kids not thinking through actions,” said John Ackerman, a clinical psychologist and suicide prevention coordinator for the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Ackerman was not involved in evaluating Myles’ case. Ackerman said that for some young kids, it can be hard to process or put the brakes on heightened emotional responses. Whereas teens may go through a series of thoughts and stages before engaging in suicidal behavior, for young children, “an impulse towards suicide can escalate really quickly,” he said. From 1999 to 2016, 1,430 children ages 5 to 12 took their own lives in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are 121 such deaths on record for 2016, up from 102 the year before. These data don’t account for nonfatal suicide attempts, but other research has seen a rise in that, too: The percentage of younger children and teens hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or attempts in the United States “almost doubled” between 2008 and 2015, according to a study published June in the journal Pediatrics. That study also found a seasonal pattern, with rates being lowest in the summer and highest in the spring and fall – around the time when school is in session. Not just a ‘teenage problem’ “Many people, including medical professionals, think suicide is a teenage problem,” Lisa Boesky, a private clinical psychologist and author who studies adolescent suicide, previously told CNN. “But suicide can happen at very young ages.” When looking for the warning signs for suicide in kids, “many people look for signs of depression,” Boesky said. But that is more typical to teens, who tend to show mood swings and depression, she said. A study in 2016 found that kids under 12 who died by suicide were more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder than older kids. The authors say this could mean younger kids with mental health issues are more susceptible to impulsively responding to problems in their lives. “That doesn’t mean that most kids with ADHD are suicidal,” said Ackerman, who was not involved in that study, but it does highlight the role impulsivity might play. Although kids tend to understand the concept of death by the fifth grade, “they don’t always understand the permanence of death in the same way,” he added. ’Kids are struggling’ Experts say that bullying and suicide are closely related but caution against drawing too direct a link. According to a CDC report, both bullies and their victims may sustain “serious and lasting negative effects” on their mental health, and they are more likely to report high levels of suicide-related behavior. But bullying isn’t necessarily a direct cause of suicide, the report says. Most kids affected by bullying don’t engage in this behavior. Asking for help The suicide rate in the United States has seen sharp increases in recent years. Studies have shown that the risk of suicide declines sharply when people call the national suicide hotline: 1-800-273-TALK. There is also a crisis text line. For crisis support in Spanish, call 1-888-628-9454. The lines are staffed by a mix of paid professionals and unpaid volunteers trained in crisis and suicide intervention. The confidential environment, the 24-hour accessibility, a caller's ability to hang up at any time and the person-centered care have helped its success, advocates say.The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world. “Bullying is one risk factor of many,” Ackerman said. Another risk factor, he said, is being male. Of the 1,430 children who took their lives from 1999 to 2016, 1,077 were boys – about 75%. Ackerman said a “suicide gender paradox” has been well-documented in older age groups, in which men are “overrepresented” in suicide deaths while women attempt suicide at higher rates. “I think there are cultural differences in the ways that boys are invited to seek help and how that’s perceived.<doc-sep>
A 9-year-old boy has killed himself following days of bullying after he came out to his fellow classmates, according to his mother. Leia Pierce said her son, Jamel Myles, told her he was gay during the summer break before starting fourth grade at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School in Denver. Speaking to KDVR, Pierce said Jamel decided to tell his classmates he was gay because he was "proud of himself." "He looked so scared when he told me," Pierce said. "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 that "four days is all it took" for her son to take his own life at their home after receiving taunts for his sexuality. She said that Jamel had told her eldest daughter that the other children "told him to kill himself. I'm just sad he didn't come to me," Pierce told the station. In a statement posted to Facebook, Pierce described how she has "lost a reason to breathe" following Jamel's death. "My heart, my sunshine, my son… He was being bullied and I didn't know," she said. "He is in heaven now and I'm not ready for this. I shouldn't be having to bury my son he is only 9… I just want my son back." Denver Public Schools confirmed that extra care procedures had been put in place for the other students following Jamel's death. "It's always tough when a little one takes his life," Denver Public Schools spokesman Will Jones told the Denver Post. "We have our crisis team there." "Fourth and fifth grade teachers at Shoemaker are creating a space for students to share how they are feeling and to process their emotions after hearing this news," Jones said. "Teachers are also letting students know about the DPS crisis team members on hand to meet their social-emotional needs." School Principal Christine Fleming also sent a letter to the student's families offering parents the chance to come and talk. "Our thoughts are with the student's family at this time," Fleming wrote, according to the Denver Channel. "We will continue to process this sad news as a school community, and again, please feel free to reach out as needed for ongoing support." If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day. If someone you know appears to be contemplating suicide, visit Bethe1To.com for assistance.