Twelve-Year-Old Nevada School Shooter Left Suicide Note – Bullies Called Him Gay

[theHandpuppet]

The New Civil Rights Movement
Twelve-Year-Old Nevada School Shooter Left Suicide Note – Bullies Called Him Gay
by Jean Ann Esselink on May 15, 2014

In October of last year, Liliana Reyes dropped her twelve-year-old son Jose off at the Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, where he was in the seventh grade. Mrs. Reyes said later she had no idea anything was bothering her son. Ten minutes later Jose wounded two students, shot and killed teacher Michael Landsberry, and then took his own life with a gun he smuggled in from home.

Like many other parents, when they heard there had been a shooting at the school, Jose’s parents rushed to the scene, worried for the safety of their son. They could not believe Jose had been the shooter. They had no inkling he was in such distress.

Jose’s parents described their son as a quiet, respectful boy, known for his smile, who worked in the family restaurant on weekends. They knew only that their son had been “teased” because of a speech problem. But his fellow students knew. In interviews immediately after the shooting, they told reporters Jose was was bullied.

Now, after an extensive investigation, Nevada Newser reports that the Sparks Police have released a 1300 page report on the incident, including the two suicide notes Jose left, one at home, meant for his parents, and one at the school where he died....

MORE at http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/twelve-year-old-nevada-school-shooter-left-suicide-note-bullies-called-him-gay/news/2014/05/15/87470

[RKP5637]

1. I often wonder how many more are like him, on the edge, because in our

society often the bullies get a free pass, those bullied get little help. The manly man attitude of many is sick, ignorant and so backward.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. In our society bullies are called Reverend and Holy Father and lauded as heroes

Many Straight people venerate bullies.

[rhett o rick]

32. Our society accepts bullies, even promotes them. In my experience many bosses get promoted because

the are the big bully. It's viewed as a good thing. "kick ass and take names". A lot of tv and movie heros are bullies. Also, in video games, being the tough guy is rewarded. Not being able to stand up to bullies is considered a weakness.

[geomon666]

21. A lot more than anyone thinks.

I know I felt like I was on the edge when I was in school. Thankfully, I never crossed that line but I can understand how someone can.

[Mbrow]

25. Amen to that.

[calimary]

35. Welcome to DU, Mbrow!

Glad you're here. Amen to that, INDEED. My kid was bullied because he couldn't sit still in class, and was a nerd, and wasn't one of the jocks.

Now he's a freakin' ROCK STAR. I find myself thinking - "hmmm... I wonder how many of those bullies on the playground who tormented him every day will see him now and think - 'I was his BEST FRIEND!!! (Now he should get me into the show for free...)'"

[Mbrow]

37. Thanks, I've been here awhile,

I just don't post much, it seem someone else says it first or better so I don't add to the clutter.

[RKP5637]

28. When I was a teenager I sat down one day and thought about did I want to try to be

a nice person, or did I want to be a violent asshole. Looking back at some of my photos of my youth it's quite clear I could have been a violent asshole. Fortunately, I chose trying to be a nice guy. Many schools are really fucked up and many really don't give a shit about how kids feel inwardly. I can really understand how some kids cross the line. It is so unfortunate, but often they have none to turn too. Sometimes parents don't give a shit and often schools are in the same bucket, and many politicians don't give a shit either. And, the TV, etc. all glorify violence. To me, it's no mystery as to why this happens, and sadly guns are often readily available.

[geomon666]

40. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I had to drop out my senior year because I couldn't take that environment any more. I knew people that committed suicide or just left and never came back. And it wasn't a stereotypical, inner city public school with gangs roaming around, I went to high school smack in the middle of a middle class suburb, surrounded by churches and parks. You go along the public school system for 12 years and the further you go, the worse it gets.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. "with a gun he smuggled in from home"

Guns make almost all problems much worse.

[xchrom]

3. we're not allowed to talk about that though. it's never, ever Teh Gun. nt

[daleanime]

16. got that right..

[yodermon]

34. yeah but then he would've just smuggled a knife

Or something

[mopinko]

4. how many hours was he working?

12 years old, working? sure, it can be a fine thing. but he was working in the family restaurant, he was this depressed, and they had no idea? did they kid get enough sleep?
sorry, that all dont quite grok.

[theHandpuppet]

6. He worked on the weekends

Not unusual for kids to work weekends. A lot of kids in farm families work not only weekends but have chores throughout the week. And young girls in households with several children often spend many hours per week helping with kids and housework. At least that's the way it was from my experience.

[TBF]

7. Not unusual at all -

we probably see much less of this now with all the large factory farms etc .. but a couple of generations ago this was the norm with small family farms. I guess it just depended on the family how well the kids were treated overall. It was a different time (my mom was one of those kids - I heard her stories and we spent some time on the farm but by that time my grandparents were much older).

[marble falls]

8. Had to to be the hours at the restaurant, not the continuing bullying. How did the school ....

NOT know about the abuse? Work may have been his sanctuary.

[mopinko]

17. dont put words in my mouth, please.

i realize i tend to see these stories from a different angle from most here, and some insist it is some sort of denial of them/their experience.
that is not the point.
there is bullying and there is the impact of bullying. it is not a one for one thing. some kids laugh it off. others bring a gun.

usually the difference between those ends of the question is the mental resilience of the kid in question.
i'm not saying there was anything bad about his working situation, except that, well, they didnt seem to know what was going on, AND the boy killed himself. usually an indicator of failure on multiple levels.

BESIDES working against bullying, we also need to take mental health and emotional development more seriously, especially for adolescents.

and sleep is a MAJOR issue for kids today. major. if he had to drive back and forth to the place with the folks, he was likely there some long hours. missing his chance to catch up from the week. not saying did, saying if.
sleep depravation is THE most treatable cause of depression, and is important for overall health and development also. ask anyone on here who got a cpap and was finally able to sleep how much of a difference it makes on your mental health.

sleep deprivation is rampant with kids. if we were more aware of it, perhaps actually linking the end result with the cause from time to time, maybe we could fix this.
change the start time for the school day. stroke of a pen, some readjustments for the grown ups, and schools could be more in sync with the well research biorhythms of the children they are supposed to be serving. boom. healthier, happier, more readier to learn, more emotionally stable. schools that have tried it have had amazing results.

i know about this from some hard fought shit.
guess that's how you end up on a mission to raise awareness.

[marble falls]

19. The issue here is not sleep deprivation. The issue here physical, verbal and psychological abuse....

that was unrelenting. How did the school not know about it.

As a dad, I knew about sleep and teen years first hand. You don't need to preach or be pedantic about it.

[elias7]

29. I think the issues are many and interrelated

And I think the suggestion was that most cope, but some don't, and no one seemed to either recognize or act on the signals that he was in trouble.

[ecstatic]

43. fyi... I was really angry and bitter about the years I was forced to work at my parents' business

I also gained weight and became very depressed around that time. When the business shut down, I was able to get back to being a teen and my depression resolved itself. I'm not sure how things would have turned out if I had to put up with severe bullying on top of everything else.

[Blue Diadem]

44. "usually an indicator of failure on multiple levels."

This news editorial would agree.

Autism diagnosis-rejected
Life skills class-rejected
suggested education program-fell through
Teachers heard of him being bullied, none reported it
Failure to secure a weapon in his home.

And I agree with you on the sleep deprivation.


http://www.rgj.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/05/18/editorial-many-us-let-jose-reyes/2224920/
snip:
"The investigation did not identify one clear catalyst or motive for the actions of the suspect," Sparks police Chief Brian Allen said.

Instead, the report provided several possible factors that set the stage for Jose's actions: teasing, bullying, Internet searches related to violence, an unlocked gun in the home, a Prozac prescription, the transition to middle school, unavailable resources.

Jose was in crisis. Everyone involved missed the signs to help him.

[marble falls]

9. Whatever it was it wasn't the bullying, right?

[phil89]

52. Bullying doesn't cause kids to commit murder

He chose it. Many kids are bullied and don't start shooting people. Too bad he wasn't provided meaningful counseling before this happened.

[riderinthestorm]

13. Both of my kids started regularly working our small family business when the were 12

Saturday and Sunday mornings 7 - 12. They were paid $10/hour like every other new employee. As soon as other shifts opened up they got first dibs on those if they wanted them during the week.

They'd helped on and off with various tasks like grooming, warming horses up, putting up hay etc before they were 12.



Many small family business' employ their kids when they're still kids.

As for spotting depression just because he was working with them, I'm not sure that's fair. Many depressed people are very good at hiding it unfortunately.

[Starry Messenger]

14. What does sleep have to do with getting bullied?

[Neoma]

24. Just about every person I know with mental health problems have sleep problems.

That's the angle there.

[Starry Messenger]

33. I don't see anything in the article that would indicate that the boy had sleep problems

or mental health issues.

[Neoma]

36. The only reason I think he could have become sick is because he was a victim of bullying.

I am not thinking, "Well he shot people, thus he's crazy." If it had nothing to do with bullying I would agree that it was just another incident where people wrongly thinks that person is mentally ill because of what crap someone decided to do. But if he was simply bottling up all his emotions and thus he did all this, then he needed help that he obviously never received. (Including people help stop the bullying.) Calling it a mental illness is probably overstating it a little (mainly because people stigmatize the fuck out of that phrase,) but everyone needs a healthy outlet for the crap that happens to them or they can become sick enough to the point of suicide.

[Jamastiene]

49. I'm going to savor this moment.

I love it that someone finally did NOT say the shooter was "mentally ill" with no evidence whatsoever for their reasoning. When people do that, it further stigmatizes nonviolent mentally ill people in the world.

What a refreshing post. Thank you.

[Blue Diadem]

55. He'd recently seen a psychiatrist and was prescribed Prozac just a few days before.

The OP article doesn't go into other details. Report says he took the pills for 3 days, but there were no noticeable changes. I didn't read the entire highlights, but from what I have read, it does indicate the boy had problems for a long while; not speaking til age 5, suspected Autism or Autism spectrum. There was concern that he'd be able to handle middle school.
Very sad situation, my heart breaks for that child.

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2014/05/13/sparks-middle-school-shooting-report/9050153/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/14/nevada-school-shooting-report/9072223/

[Heather MC]

10. My 12 year old, is dealing with the bulling in school, and the school doesn't help

My son is big for his Age he is 5'7" and 158lbs. But he is a sweetheart, very kind, no agression whatsoever.

Last month a kid attacked my son physically for no reason, all the witnesses admitted to that. During the Attack, my son managed to get two punches in.

The school vp told my son he bore some responsibility for the attack, because he punched the boy twice. And he wanted to give my son one day of in-school suspention.

I respectfully went off on that VP, and asked him how could he punish the victim of an attack? The fight was bad enough what school attempted to do after the fact was FAR worse. Anyway the VP did agree with me and cancelled my sons suspention. But not before bringing my son into the office and causing him to be an emotional mess believing he was also in trouble. Oh and they didn't allow me to know when they were meeting with my son. I wanted to be there for him.

Fortunately, my son tells me everything, and hopefully, I am helping him work through middleschool hell with his sanity intact.

[SallyAnn]

11. Self defense

I would enroll my children in a self defense program so they learn how to really defend themselves. Then when a bully attacks them, the bully learns real fast he is not as tough as he thinks he may be. Also I would inform the school, in a registered letter, that my son will, upon been set upon, defend himself. And also bring up the question to the school what steps are they taking to stop anyone from bullying others?

Parents need to be involved in all aspects of school life, otherwise this bullying crap will continue.

[theHandpuppet]

12. And lets' not forget this, either...

From the article:

"There is an important lesson to be learned from Jose Reyes and what he did at Sparks Junior High. The idea that schools should adopt some “religious excuse” for students who make life miserable for gay students is not only a mistake, it is a policy that puts lives at risk. Schools with policies that “protect” gays will never be as safe as schools with policies that welcome gays."

[riderinthestorm]

15. +100000. We can't ignore the part homophobia played in this tragedy

[Heather MC]

46. I told the VP if my son is going to get in trouble anyway, I

Will teach him to throw a proper punch so next time he does some damage!

[aikoaiko]

22. Its important to teach our children that they are worth defending

Good for you for sticking up for him.

[Heather MC]

48. Thanks, you have to fight for your children, and they need to know

They have people in the corner willing to fight for them.

[LittleBlue]

23. I would be worried if your son didn't fight back

The VP is the type who wants bullied kids to be whipping boys.

Good on you for getting him out of trouble. You handled it really well.

I was about 5'10" at that age. When you're so much bigger than other kids, you become a target. It's a way for smaller boys to gain prestige. Next time someone tries to hurt him, tell your son to give him a good thrashing to make the next guy think twice, and to hell with school administrators who'd prefer he apologize for getting beaten.

[Heather MC]

47. Exactly, they honestly expect the good kids to stand there and take it.

And this was not the first altercation for the other boy. But my son has never been in a physical fight. I told my son as long as you don't start the fight, do what you go to do, you will not get in trouble at home for defending yourself.

[greatlaurel]

18. The "Zero Tolerance" policy is an excuse so that school adminstrators do not have to stop bullying.

In my school district, they call their discipline policy "Zero Tolerance". If there is a fight, both kids are punished equally. This makes sure that bullying becomes rampant. Kids who are picked on are not allowed to protect themselves, so they put up with it until they cannot take it any longer. Every person has a breaking point. Then once they fight back, they get punished equally with the bully. The bullies win no matter what. They get to sit with the bullied child during in-school suspension, furthering the aims of torturing the victim.

It is really sick how so many schools from Kindergarten through university fail to stop bullying. Because the schools and families of bullies fail to address it, bullying continues into adult life and into the work place. Bullying behaviors are acceptable and even encouraged in American culture.

My condolences to Jose's family and to Mr. Landsberry's family. They were both victims of the culture of bullying and, at the local level, the administrators who refuse to protect all their students.

[Smarmie Doofus]

20. We're not going to change human nature, but...

>>>>It doesn’t really matter if Jose was gay or just if he was just called “gay” because the bullies think it is the charge that cuts deepest. When being “gay” is no longer thought of as an insult, bullies lose it as a weapon.>>>>>>

a school by definition, is supposed to EDUCATE.

How many schools include lgbt history in SS or English class? How many teach the science ( science; not religion) about homosexuality in science/biology/sex ed ?

None, afaik, if the NYS CC curriculum... our version of what is being imposed on public schools in 44 states..... can be used as a guide. (Edit to acknowledge the glorious exception of California.)

If straight kids knew what homosexuality actually IS, and how lgbts have shaped history and culture ( probably out of proportion to our actual #s ) they might have more respect for homosexual people, and gay... or perceived to be gay.... kids.



LGBT issue aside..... human nature is what it is ( And ain't that a fucking drag?): How do more... ahem... enlightened societies ( ok, let's use western Europe as a basis of comparison) deal w. school bullying in general?

[HelenWheels]

26. School officials had to know he was bullied

All the kids knew it and with all the things being done to the boy it would be hard to miss. Some of my grandkids were bullied. My daughter and SIL went to the school numerous times to talk with the teachers and principal but it did not stop. Even I went and discussed it with the principal. It got so bad my daughter went to the Superintendent of Schools who then called the principal. The principal said he didn't know any thing about it as no one had brought it to his attention!

[tblue37]

31. When my son was bullied in 7th grade, I assured the school that I was

in discussions with my lawyer to sue.

I had no lawyer, and I wasn't planning to sue, but I knew the threat would work, and I am *very* convincing.

One problem is that 7th grade boys are ususally tiny little things, and they are usually still children.

Long about the middle of 8th grade most boys get their testosterone boost. They shoot up several inches, V-out (broader shoulders, manly physique), become heavier and more muscular and strong. The testosterone boost also drives the adolescent male tendency to establish social hierarchy through aggression. You see it in virtually all social mammals.

Since junior highs and middle schools put 7th grade boys in with 8th or 8th and 9th grade boys, bullying will happen unless the schools, the families, and the general community culture actively educate their boys against such behavior, as well as recognizing the risk to smaller, weaker boys and truly protecting them and responding to their pleas for help. Obviously none of those things are being done now.

[Blue_Adept]

45. There's a lot of variance out there.

Here, the schools (now) break down as k-4, 5-7 and 8-12. So the 8th graders are all the low rung on the ladder at high school. There are some parents who dislike the 5th graders being with 6th and 7th, but they're so compartmentalized by grade with their own wing that it's turned out to be a complete nonissue.

[tblue37]

50. I think the arrangement you describe makes much more sense, because

7th grade boys are so much smaller and less testosterone driven than 8th grade boys. I feel for 8th grade boys in a 5-year high school set up, but at least they are not as small and weak as most 7th grade boys are. My son was not the only kid bullied in that school, but they were all 7th grade boys.

One reason I got nasty and threatening with the school (there were several reasons) is that once when some boys were abusing my son and his friend, he saw a male teacher coming around in their direction. The teacher saw what was happening, then turned on a dime and left them there.

I do understand that teachers are often afraid of the big boys in a school, and in some schools the risk is such that I wouldn't blame a teacher for going to get help before wading into such a situation.

But this guy *didn't* go for help. He just left 2 small, weak boys to be abused by 3 older, much larger boys.

Furthermore, ours is a college town, and the school my son attended did *not* have that sort of violence, where students actually threatened teachers. In fact, even backtalk was almost never an issue, and when it happened, the teachers easily squelched it and penalized the offender.

[Blue_Adept]

51. Agreed on all counts

I understood the nervousness that parents had with the change. I grew up in the 1-6, 7/8, 9-12 school breakdown so I wasn't sure how it would work. But breaking the middle school up a bit and putting some of them in the high school where they're not top dogs while feeling like they could be eases some of the tensions.

I've had more concern with the kindergarten students being in the 1-4 schools, but that's worked out really well since they're all bound to third and fourth graders that help them acclimate. Similarly, the 11th graders started their own program a few years back where a lot of them participate in mentoring 8th graders to help them understand the overwhelming system, giving them a student connection that they see around during the day that's always helpful and talkative/polite to them, removing the fear of older students as well.

[tblue37]

53. When our city went to a 4-grade high school after having been 3 grades forever,

seniors paired up with 9th-graders that way, too. It made the transition so much easier for them.

When I was in grade school (1955-1961), 5th and 6th grade students with high grades and good behavior had were recommended by teachers to serve as "readers" for the lower grades. During periods when our own class was not doing much--like after lunch, when the homeroom teacher would read to her class--we "readers" would go to our assigned classes of younger kids and read to them so their teachers could have lunch or work on grading or prep.

I was a reader during my fifth and sixth grade years. I loved doing it, and the little kids treated me like some sort of superhero. They would even go nuts when they were out in public with their families and spotted me, just as we used to do when we ran into a teacher in a store. I am 63, and I have taught college since 1972. I also served as a substitute teacher in our city's elementary schools for a year. But my years as a 10-year-old and 11-year-old grade school reader are still among my fondest memories at the front of a classroom.

[chervilant]

27. "Ain't you tired, Bully, ain't you tired?"

(Forgive the borrowing and tailoring of that great quote...)

From the article:

It doesn’t really matter if Jose was gay or just if he was just called “gay” because the bullies think it is the charge that cuts deepest. When being “gay” is no longer thought of as an insult, bullies lose it as a weapon.

There is an important lesson to be learned from Jose Reyes and what he did at Sparks Junior High. The idea that schools should adopt some “religious excuse” for students who make life miserable for gay students is not only a mistake, it is a policy that puts lives at risk. Schools with policies that “protect” gays will never be as safe as schools with policies that welcome gays

Emphasis mine -- we all know where our younglings get this untenable bigotry.

[Pisces]

30. I think kids now have a script in their head, due to so many school shootings. This seed is planted

in their heads and when they are feeling like they can't take it anymore they follow the script with a shooting. It is insane.
There have always been bullies and the bullied, however, the way kids respond is much more violent. Beyond the violent
video games reasoning. I think we should address how so much has changed for boys in particular at school. I think boys have
been suppressed and when they explode it is magnified. Add guns to the mix and it is a recipe for disaster.

[Cha]

38. Poor little thing.. :(

[Initech]

39. Today's bullies = tomorrow's Republicans

[RKP5637]

41. Yep, that's it in a nutshell, born and bred to bully. Sadly in the US there are lots of

rewards built into the bully system, financial and social. And, capitalism rewards bullies handsomely.

[Behind the Aegis]

42. Homophobia is a joke to some and not relevant for discussion.

Two people are dead, many more are probably scarred, and all because of people's hate for gay folks. Disgusted.

[riqster]

54. I was bullied, until I totally lost my shit and hit back.

The teachers and principal knew all along that I was being bullied, and did nothing.

On the flip side, I was not punished either.

The sad thing is the lesson taught to me; "violence is the solution to violence".

As an adult, I now know the real answer: "grownups need to do our fucking jobs".