Bully of Suicide Teen Being Threatened

Funeral services were to be held Thursday for a Texas teenager who committed suicide, apparently after being bullied by classmates.

Jon Carmichael, 13, of Joshua, took his own life Sunday, reports CBS News Correspondent Don Teague.

The eighth-grader had apparently been teased and bullied because of his small size, Teague says.

Classmate Chris Montelongo admits he picked on Carmichael, but insists he wasn't alone. "I wasn't the only one," Montelongo says. "I can guarantee you it was most of the school who messed with Jon."

Montelongo adds that, despite the teasing, he considered Carmichael a friend. "At times," he says, "I did bully him. But it was just both of us just messing around. I never did it because I hated him."

Now, Montelongo says other kids are blaming him for Carmichael's death.

And his mother, Leticia Montelongo, says she worries about his safety, and picks him up from school because "he's been threatened."

Chris Montelongo voiced his regrets, saying, "The things I have done to him, I just wish I could take it back -- but now that he's gone, I can't do anything about it."

Teachers and students in the school district had already undergone anti-bullying training after a similar suicide last year.

[v_eharris]

Not many solutions. The bully can be taught not to tease because it is just not the right thing to do (if you are into right and wrong actions). Words harm although the playground advice is "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." This is a lie. Words hurt. Many adults will fight, cry, etc if the wrong words are said to them. The one being bullied can be taught how to get help and talk things out (we as parent or older adults have to put in time with kids). Kids do not like for parents to get involved some times because they believe it makes the situation just that more difficult when the go back to school. I choose making things worse over a dead child-anyone's child. My parents, teachers, and Sunday school teacher taught me better than to harm another with words or anything else. We all need to teach to all kids. We are all a community, and I hurt for both the parents and kids-both side.

[MaileySmith]

As a parent our main responsibility is our child's safety. We can prevent this from happening to our kids if we have an open communication with them. It's very important that we talk to them if something had gone wrong in order for us to address their problem right away. It's a big help also if we give them a security service to use if an emergency occurs. Like the one that I have with my kids it's an application called SafeKidZone that enables your child to summon for help right away, it will notify friends and family as well. I find it very useful. You can also get some safety tips and details about the service, check this out http://safekidzone.com/

[EdPsych]

I find this article interesting for many reasons. The first being that the main bully who confessed to his actions is in the spotlight, not so much the victim who committed suicide because of being bullied. I find it interesting that the bully, Chris Montelongo, has not come forth with others who took part in his behaviors, that he is willing to take the blame all by himself and keep the others name-less. Secondly, I am appalled at how the mother of the bully is making statements on her worries about her son rather than her apologies for her son's behavior to the parents of the son who was victimized.
I wish this article had more details because I am curious as to if this suicide was due to being bullied or had other factors that contributed to his decision to take his life, as well. The comment by ?abejanega? is one that takes an interesting spin to this brief article. Perhaps it wasn?t just being bullied at school that caused Jon Carmichael, this thirteen year old boy, to take his life. What happened could have been due to intense bullying that overcome the child to the extent that he could not handle it, or it could have been a mixture of things resulting from the bullying at school in addition to other issues in his life at home. If his parents had played a closer role in his life perhaps this incident could have been prevented.
?Taxchurches? comment makes a good point as well. Often times the bullies themselves do not realize that they are bullies and are hurting someone else. They just take "messing around" and "having fun" a little bit too far. As in this instance, the bully who came forth feels that the victim was his friend and they would just ?playfully tease?. The comment by ?MalloryDavis? sympathizes with the bully which gives me mixed feelings. I agree to an extent that this is a horrible thing for a young child to have to live with knowing that his actions caused another to lose his life. However, this cannot be treated as acceptable behavior that gets by without any consequences.
A greater awareness needs to be made for students and teachers alike. Although the article stated that teachers had undergone anti-bullying training, ?just-sane2009? makes a startling point: There have been TWO suicides at that location in the past year. Immediate steps need to be taken to prevent further instances such as this one from occurring. Adults including those in leadership positions, teachers, caregivers, as well as parents need to listen and respond to all complaints about bullying and not take them so lightly. They need to be aware of social interactions going on in settings such as school. They need to always behave in ways that reflect themselves as being positive role models. Teachers need to report any signs or complaints of bullying to the school board where action can be taken immediately. Children of all ages need to be aware of bullying and given information on what to do in such situations. Advice such as saying ?Staying calm and try not to show you are upset, because anger will only make things worse? and ?Be confident and tell the other person that you do not like what they are doing?, in addition to ?Find an adult you trust and tell them what happened as soon as you can?. Those who are victimized of being bullied need to be given encouragement that things will get better and there is hope, not to give up.

[abejanegra]

all you hear is about how this kid commited suicide because he was being BULLIED at school ,how do you know how his life at HOME was... Maybe if the parents were more involved in his life they would have seen the signs, No take the easy way out lets blam it on the boy that actually came out and said maybe i did bully him BUT I WAS not the only one... No one put anything to this kid to kill him he made a choice on his own no one drove him to doing it it was his choice and now you want to blame and put this on another kid COME ON people please give me a freaken break

[abejanegra]

you are a stuopid person

[taxchurches]

Ah yes, school days. I remember teachers physically manhandling kids. I remember seeing other kids being harassed or even beaten nearly unconscious in front of teachers who did nothing at all. I remember kids afraid to ride the bus. How does a child concentrate on their school activities if they are in a constant state of fear? Interestingly, I remember talking to one kid who was honestly taken aback when I asked him why he was bullying someone. He really didn't seem to realize he was doing it; he thought what he was doing was all in fun, or didn't see grasp his behavior was habitual. So up to a point, for the bully, it may be a matter of education as much as discipline. For the teachers and administrators, it is a matter of responsibility. They don't stop the bullies, but they feel free to sleep with their students these days, apparently (my day too, of course -- good ol' Mr. Steinhagen).

[MalloryDavis]

This is just tragic. I feel sorry for the kid who bullied because he has to live with this for ever. Hopefully, he'll be able to share insite and be a proponent of a new way of life for high schoolers.

[m3site]

incroyable, sam-kiley? Bullying is still widespread throughout the elite schools of Europe ... so let's not all pretend this is somehow an American phenomenon

[bpai99]

How does it feel to be on the other side of threats now? Turnabout is a b--ch, ain't it? Cry me a river for poor Chris.

[justsane-2009]

wait a second...there have been TWO suicides in this district, in the last year, as a result of bullying??? something needs to change there in a hurry.

[comfortmd1]

he needs to go to jail for what amounts to murder... schools do very little to combat bullying. i have three kids in public schools, and the system is set up to protect the bullies and the school system from litigation and criminal inquiries. period