Rest in Peace: 11 Year Old Toni Rivers " Couldn't Take It Anymore" Commits Suicide

[Sugar Cookie]

Officials in South Carolina are investigating after an 11-year-old killed herself with a rifle.

Toni Rivers from Hampton County apparently told five of her friends that she 'couldn't take it anymore' after being bullied at school, and informed them she was going to kill herself.

Family members said the sixth grader committed suicide Wednesday after being bullied at her Hampton County School District 1 elementary school.

Toni's 14-year-old sister called 911. Deputies found Toni lying on her back with a gunshot wound from a small caliber rifle.

She managed to survive for a further 72 hours before succumbing to her injuries.

Initially family members thought the shooting was an accident because the rifle that was used in the shooting belonged to Toni, although the bullets were supposedly kept separately from the guns.

Toni's mother, Amy Thomas, claimed that her daughter's school was told about the bullying two months ago and had even called the school four times in the days before the shooting.

One parent claimed the bullying had been ongoing for a year with the school and district taking minimal action to prevent or stop it.

Toni's family have said they want bullies to be held accountable and punished for their actions.
The school has released a statement but not yet commented on the young girl's death or bullying allegations.

Six families with children at the school have agreed to be interviewed as part of the inquest into the child's suicide.

The state's Law Enforcement Division is investigating the death.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5048935/Bullied-girl-11-commits-suicide-telling-friends.html

 

[myra manes]

Tragic ..

Now, why the fuck does an 11 year old even have her own gun????

 

[Forensicwx]

These stories always make me wonder.

In 6th grade, would I have taken a classmate’s suicide threat seriously? Would I have sounded an alarm if someone told me they were gonna hurt themselves? Was I even mature enough to understand the possible ramifications?

This poor girl, she had no idea her problems were temporary. Such a tiny slice of her overall life and it would’ve so quickly become a distant memory.

 

[Sudonim]

This poor girl, she had no idea her problems were temporary. Such a tiny slice of her overall life and it would’ve so quickly become a distant memory.

That's the lie we like to tell ourselves but the stark reality is that a lot of kids are permanently damaged from bullying and it has life long ramifications.

My youngest son has been bullied daily (physically and mentally by students and teachers alike) for the last 6 years. He's 10. Not only is that a majority of his life, but it's during the most critical development years. It has drastically changed him. He used to be so happy and carefree. His laugh was infectious to hear. He seldom laughs or smiles anymore. And I can't tell you what it's like to have a small child say he just wants to be treated like he's normal. Especially when he is normal. My biggest fear is that he won't ever get over this and it will impact his adult life.

I have done literally everything I can short of beating the snots myself. This school year has been the first that the bullying is finally becoming an oddity rather than the norm. And that's only because at the end of last year I went after them legally and this year he's been appointed a government aid(to work on the problems the bullying caused). Even though it's far less, it still happens, enough that his aid..who works for the government..commented 2 weeks ago after another kid split his lip open, that he should start physically sticking up for himself if nothing else is being done. The school was NOT happy to hear that.

Thing is everyone realizes there's a problem. Here in the Netherlands bullying is so rampant that 1 in 20 kids is bullied. But when it comes down to it there's very little anyone can really do. The only way bullying will stop is if people pull their heads from their asses and start caring about their children again. If parents are held legally accountable for what their little shits do. If people start shaming and looking down upon those who have "bad" kids.

Bullying to the extent kids take it now isn't natural for children. It's learned. My son's bullying..yeah. That started with parents. Parents that didn't even bother to hide their disdain that he was "foreign"(even though hes considered a natural born dutch citizen, with dual citizenship and not an immigrant). It snowballed from there and his reactions to the kids leaving him out and harassing him and telling him what their parents said about him was anger, which only lead to further comments from parents. We've had teachers come to us in front of all the other parents and tell us to medicate him, even though they know he's been tested and has nothing to medicate. At 4 he had a teacher physically throw him to the ground because he put his shoes on the wrong feet.

Bullying can have a profound impact on a childs emotional growth. One that as adults we dont really consider. A lot of people don't realize that bullying has changed in the last dozen years, and not only has it changed to harsher forms that are impossible to escape, we've taken any chance for the child to stick up for themselves away.

 

[Runecire]

Our schools say that they have a zero tolerance rule. They also say that BOTH students involved in a fight will face punishment. I'm happy to say, however, that in cases where a student is bullied and provoked and then beats the snot out of the bully, the bully gets the out-of-school suspension and the provoked gets a slap on the wrist. I've always told my boys...walk if you can (and never turn your back), but the third time he pushes, let him have it, and if he comes in swinging, put him down. They know they have my support as long as they don't start it and have tried other avenues before getting physical. My oldest was blindsided one time (caught on video) by a boy who came out of nowhere. One of the bigger boys standing with my son taught the bully a lesson he never forgot. The bully got suspended and my son's friend got no punishment because he was defending my son who was down.

I was bullied a lot as a youngster, but when i hit 8th grade (being a year older than my classmates), suddenly the bullies were weaker and smaller than me. My Mom had the "No fighting under any circumstances" rule. My dad was a lot more practical and layed down the same rules I gave to my boys.

In this girl's case, it's sad she felt she had no other answer. Bullying leaves scars, but some become stronger because of them and some buckle and never recover. Whether or not she would have overcome her scars when she got older is anyone's guess. I prefer to err on the side of the positive and hope she would have risen above them, and it's sad that she will never have the chance to find out. RIP young one; I hope you're at peace now.
[doublepost=1509817709,1509817492][/doublepost]

Now, why the fuck does an 11 year old even have her own gun????

I'm confused also. My son's had "their" guns, but they stayed locked in my room until we used them. I drilled gun safety into their heads from a young age, but they (and more importantly their friends) did not have free access to them.

 

[Sejanus]

All the world hates a bully.

There is a lot here to take in.
Was it a squirrel gun perhaps?
Not so unusual for youngsters to have their own guns to learn proper handling and such if it is a family thing. Not something I would do but well.
For a girl to shoot herself in a suicide, that is shocking especially with a long gun of sorts.
I suppose had it been a boy a slew of bullies might have been gunshot victims.

Bullying needs to be treated as seriously as a common assault.
It has life long ramifications for some victims.
It maims in very real ways.

I cannot help but think if she did not have easy gun access,
she might still be alive.
I know that over simplifies it,
but still.