SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: The devastated family of a gay San Diego teenager has claimed that cyberbullying led him to kill himself by suicide, just days before the school year started in mid-August.
Salvador Rios, 14, was discovered dead at a family member's home on August 15 after a social media post allegedly disclosed his personal information and launched a vicious homophobic attack against him.
"One post not only destroyed my brother's life, but my life, my family's life," Rios's sister Aleah Rios told ABC 10, adding, "I feel like a part of my heart is missing."
Why did Salvador Rios took his life?
Salvador's devastated sister revealed that he died by suicide after an anonymous post was shared on social media on August 15.
The triggering post was shared just days before Salvador was slated to start eighth grade at Standley Middle School in San Diego.
"Every day, telling his friends, 'How are you not excited? I'm so excited for school to start,'" Aleah said, describing her brother’s excitement to go back into the classroom.
However, this excitement was soon turned into grief after the Instagram post was shared by someone who is yet to be identified.
"Someone posted a picture of him, making very homophobic remarks about him, disclosing personal information that he had disclosed only to a few individuals," claimed the sister, outlining the contents of the since-deleted post.
Rios’ friends and family were also tagged in the post by the person, who made the homophobic remarks. Aleah revealed that this was not the first time when Rios became the victim of a brutal homophobic attack.
She revealed that after Rios came out as gay in sixth grade, he was jumped by several students while heading home from Marston Middle School.
Salvador, who was just 12 years old then, was attacked and held down by older pupils who yelled homophobic slurs at him.
Later, his family learned that bullying had been happening since the start of the academic year. Then, his family relocated him from Marston to Standley.
Has police arrested Salvador Rios’ bully?
The San Diego Police Department has since launched an investigation into the bullying and Rios’ death. His family is also fighting for change and looking to show the devastating consequences of their actions.
"The world has lost such a strong, confident, loving boy who could have done amazing things and changed many things," his sister said, adding, "Please consider what you're posting. You don't know the impact it could have."
They are also looking to bring the person or group responsible to justice. "I would like to see accountability because my brother deserves justice," said Aleah.
A GoFundMe has since been launched to help Salvador's family cover the cost of a funeral and a memorial for him.
