10-Year-Old Boy Dies By Suicide After Being Bullied Over Colostomy Bag

Credit: GoFundMe

A 10-year-old boy from Kentucky died by suicide after he was bullied for wearing a colostomy bag at school.

Seven Bridges hung himself at home on Saturday after he was repeatedly made fun of according to ABC News. The fifth-grader attended Kerrick Elementary in Louisville, Kentucky, and was the son of Tami Charles, a local comedian and radio host.

In a separate report with WHAS, Charles explained that Bridges had a medical issue that required multiple surgeries to his bowels, including the insertion of a colostomy bag.

"Twenty-six surgeries from the day my son was born. Twenty-six surgeries. He just wanted to be normal, that's all," she said.

Charles said that her son's health problems were the reason students bullied Bridges, and as much as she tried to talk to him about it, it wasn't enough.

"Even in talking about it and letting him express himself, there was still a sorrow that he couldn't let us in," Charles told WAVE. "We signed him up for the boys' academy. We would talk to him often how he would have new friends and a new start. You just had to get to the end of the year."

Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio offered a statement saying everyone was devastated by the eight recorded suicide this year in the district. Bridges was the youngest student a part of the district to die by suicide.

A GoFundMe page for the family has raised over $80,000. The campaign is to assist the child's family with funeral and memorial expenses and lost wages, as well as to support Charles in getting justice for Bridges.

Source: ABC News