Gay Iowa teenager Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. has committed suicide after classmates made death threats on his cell phone and made him the subject of a Facebook hate group, according to the Huffington Post.
Classmates at South O’Brien High School started teasing and bullying him after Weishuhn, 14, came out of the closet earlier this year. His sister, Kayla, said, “People that were originally his friends, they kind of turned on him. A lot of people, they either joined in or they were too scared to say anything.”
Among the organizations responding to the teen’s death is pro-LGBT group One Iowa. In a statement, Executive Director Calla Rongerude said, “What Kenneth endured is something that no one should have to go through. Kenneth made the brave choice to live his life openly and fully, and he was targeted at school with taunts, hurtful online organizing against him and even death threats. No one, especially the most vulnerable members of our community, should face bullying and threats of violence simply for being who they are.”