A 12-year-old student committed suicide on Wednesday after schoolmates allegedly bullied him for being the only male cheerleader on an all-girl squad, police authorities said, declining to release further details about the his death.
Ronin Shimizu, a former student at Folsom Middle School in Folsom, Calif., killed himself on Wednesday afternoon after he was repeatedly attacked for being the only male cheerleader with the Vista Junior Eagles Cheer Team, UK MailOnline reported.
"Bullying him because of cheerleading... it's not right," 11-year-old Mia Kleinbardt told Fox40. "It's what he loves to do."
Prior to the tragic incident, Shimizu's parents had made complaints about the bullying on multiple occasions, the school district confirmed. Even though officials stated that protocol was followed in regard to the complaints, Shimizu's friends claimed that the taunting continued.
So, the 12-year-old had recently been pulled out of Folsom Middle School to be home schooled.
"Any allegations bullying related to this specific incident, we're certainly reviewing how we responded to those and we'll use that as an opportunity to always take a look at how we respond to future allegations," said Daniel Thigpen with the Folsom Cordova School District, adding that the school had a comprehensive anti-bullying campaign.
On Thursday night, a quiet candle light vigil was held by the victim's friends and their parents outside his home.
"I heard that people called him gay because he was a cheerleader," one of his teammates told CBS Sacramento at the vigil.
Although friends knew that Shimizu was being bullied, they said they hadn't been aware of how deeply it was affecting him.
"He was always so passionate like he didn't care what a lot of people said," Hunter Reed, a friend from drama club, told Fox40. "He just kept going on with life. He was always so happy, like the happiest person I've ever met."
"I heard that somebody called the bullies and told them that he passed away and they were like shocked," another child, Riley Coleman, said. They "learned their lesson on how words can hurt."
Meanwhile, Vista Jr. Eagles shared photos of the young, grinning boy in his cheer uniform on Thursday.
"Tragically, we lost one of our own yesterday, Ronin Shimizu," a statement read. "Please support his family through this extremely difficult time... Please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers."
