Jaheem Herrera. Remember his name, as it joins the list of names that already includes Eric Mohat, Lee Simpson, and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover — because like them, 11-year-old Herrera took his own life after facing anti-gay torment in school.
He hung himself. With a fabric belt. His 10-year-old sister Yerralis found him in his room, hanging there.
Students at Dunaire Elementary School, home of the Dolphins in Stone Mountain, Georgia, called Herrera "gay and a snitch," says his stepfather. Jamheem's sister, who was in the fifth grade with her brother, witnessed the harassment on several occasions. And her family was aware he was a target for bullying; they just didn't know how bad it was.
And as if this story couldn't get any worse, Herrera told school teachers and staff about the harassment. It's unclear what their response was, and fingers will be pointed. At school administrators. At students. At the parents.
