Teen who killed himself inside Acton high school was bullied

Who stood by his side? Who was his friend? Did he have anyone? What was the school doing about any of this? Will the students who decided that he deserved to be bullied be charged with anything at all? Will anyone be held accountable?

Teenagers have a hard time getting from being a child into coming into adulthood. They need all the help they can get but what they need the most is someone watching over them, caring about them and giving them the strength to overcome what the world pushes on them.

Teen who killed himself inside Acton high school was bullied, students say

Jeremiah Finton Lasater, 14, was found in a boys' restroom at Vasquez High School with a gunshot wound to the head.

By Catherine Saillant and Alexandra Zavis
11:33 AM PDT, October 22, 2008

Tall, awkward and dealing with a learning disability, 14-year-old Jeremiah Lasater was a target of frequent taunts by schoolyard bullies at Vasquez High School in Acton, students said Tuesday.

Even the classroom wasn't always safe for the 6-foot-5 teen, who in middle school was poked and teased by some of his fellow special needs students, according to a former teacher.

Monday was no different. At least two boys threw food at Lasater during lunch, two students said.

Then, as lunch was ending and other students scurried to fifth-period classes, Lasater headed to a boy's bathroom and locked himself inside a stall. He pulled out a weapon and shot himself in the head.

Students, parents and school administrators in the tiny community of Acton on Tuesday were dealing with the shock of the boy's suicide, the first in the high school's 14-year history. Grief counselors spoke with distraught students, and teachers were on high alert for other signs of unrest on the 600-student campus.
go here for more
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-acton22-2008oct22,0,5808444.story