A Town Is in Mourning After a 12-Year-Old Dies by Suicide Over Bullying

Students at Copeland Middle School in New Jersey wore blue this week in honor of a fellow student who died this week. While the death is officially under investigations, friends of the girl confirmed to NBC New York that she took her own life as a result of bullying.

Mallory Grossman, a 12-year-old girl from Rockaway Township, New Jersey, was by all accounts a good student, an athlete, and popular with her peers. Grossman’s former gymnastics coach, Paula Gehman, described her as a ”Wonderful child sweet, smart, kind, quiet.” But she was also the victim of bullying, with social media posts alluding to bullying via Snapchat.

Mallory Grossman
Image: GoFundme.com / Memorial for Mallory

The cheerleader’s mother complained to her daughter’s school about the bullying on the very day she died, according to family and friends. The school’s superintendent isn’t commenting, but an assessment of Copeland Middle School’s anti-bullying program could be found on the district’s website. The evaluation lists strengths in curriculum and instruction, investigation procedures, and incident reporting.

Still, some are saying the school didn’t do enough to prevent a tragedy like this. ”Teachers have to be vigilant, always,” Gehman said. ”At any age, something is going to happen. Somebody’s going to push somebody around. Just stop it.”

A GoFundMe for Mallory’s family has raised over $72,000, and will help her family with funeral expenses and other costs.

Our hearts go out to Mallory’s friends and family.

(Image: Screenshot / NBC New York)

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