CORONADO, Calif. (CNS) - The family of a seventh grader at Coronado Middle School who died by suicide earlier this year has filed a legal claim against the Coronado Unified School District, alleging district officials failed to intervene or investigate bullying allegations that attorneys say led to the boy's death.
Gabriel Palacios, 13, died a few months after he inadvertently shared a video over social media that included nude images of himself, according to the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Attorney John Gomez, who is representing the Palacios family, said Gabriel already endured bullying at school because he was neurodivergent, but the bullying ramped up following the video incident.
The claim states that though Gabriel quickly deleted the video, one student had saved it and threatened to spread it.
When Gabriel and his mother brought the issue up with school leaders, Gomez says the other student was questioned, denied knowing anything about the video and no further action was taken.
The family alleges that not only did the bullying against Gabriel increase, but that school administrators disciplined him for an allegedly unfounded claim of bringing a weapon to school. The claim also says the school was aware that Gabriel's emotional state was declining, as he was eating lunch daily in the counselor's office to escape the bullying he faced from other students, yet little to nothing was done.
Gabriel died by suicide in April, which Gomez said stemmed from "excessive student bullying and the indifference and disdain of those educators responsible for protecting him."
The Coronado Unified School District said in a statement that it was "aware of the legal matter currently pending" but that the district's policy is to "not comment on ongoing or pending litigation."
Gabriel's mother, Orsolya Palacios, said in a statement, "I watched my son's spirit extinguish, his confidence shatter and his dignity get stolen. I saw his voice and mine dismissed and deemed irrelevant by the middle school authorities. ...Gabriel did not deserve this. No one deserves this and it needs to be stopped."
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