Bullying leads to Texas teen’s suicide

Published: Updated:

TEXAS CITY, TX — A Texas family is searching for answers after an 18-year-old high school student committed suicide in her home.

The family said years of cyberbullying led to her death.

Brandy Vela sent a final text to her family saying that she loved them and she was sorry.

Jacqueline Vela, Brandy’s sister, tried everything she could to save her sister.

“I heard someone crying, so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room and she’s against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest,” she said. “She’s just crying and crying and I’m like, ‘Brandy please don’t, Brandy no.’

Brandy Vela’s family tried to find the right words, but the Texas City High School Senior already made up her mind.

“I was in my parents’ room and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, ‘Help me, help me, help me,'” Jacqueline Vela said.

Brandy died at the hospital, according the police.

Brandy’s older brother, Victor, and the rest of her family blame her death on years of bullying. They said her weight was the main target and people would allegedly create fake social media accounts to harass her.

“They would make dating websites of her and they would put her number and they would put her picture and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for sex for free, to call her,” Jacqueline said, adding they’ve reported the bullying to the school and police.

“We have a lot of incident reports and they always say the same thing: ‘They can’t do anything about it,'” Jacqueline said.

Texas City police said they’re still investigating the cyberbullying allegations.

The Texas City independent school district said in a statement they investigated the online harassment, but discovered the app being used to harass her was untraceable.

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