By Ashleigh Costello
EAGnews.org

MARION, Ind. – Police are investigating a student’s tragic on-campus suicide at McCulloch Junior High School.

Some students and parents said the suicide was a reaction to bullying by other students, and claim school officials should have known about the situation and intervened.

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Braylee Shea Rice, 14, was found dead Monday morning. Rice was last seen leaving class that morning at 8:45 a.m. She was found under the school’s football field bleachers a short time later, reports The Inquisitor.

“She had hanged herself from the bleacher area. She was located by another group of students that was walking outside with a teacher,” said Marion Deputy Police Chief Cliff Sessoms.

Students and staff gathered Monday night to remember Rice. School officials said grief counselors have been made available to help everyone cope with the situation.

Marion Community Schools Superintendent Steve Edwards said he is in shock.

“I’ve been faced with a lot,” Edwards said. “But never this type of situation.”

Family members said Rice was the victim of bullying, but officials said it was too early to know if that was a factor in the girl’s death.

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“She lived a great life until those kids from school told her to go and kill herself,” according to Rice’s older sister, Moka. “My sister already had depression and suicidal thoughts, and the school knew that, and they didn’t help her. We tried so hard, our family really did.”

School administrators said they were unaware that Rice was being bullied, but dozens of parents and students said bullying is prevalent in the school, according to the news site.

One source told reporters that students were recently seen throwing a water bottle at Rice and calling her names.

It’s odd that so many parents and students were aware of the bullying problem, but school officials remained clueless. Perhaps there needs to be more communication about these types of problems in all schools. Administrators are busy people and may not know everything going on around them. Students, and particularly parents, should clue them in when they recognize a troublesome situation.

A quick note or phone call could end up saving a life.

The National Education Association says roughly 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of bullying. Researchers list bullying as one of the leading causes of suicide among children.

School officials have scheduled an anti-bullying event Thursday and a rally in honor of Rice is set for Friday.