CORONADO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Civil Rights Attorney John Gomez is filing a complaint against the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) on behalf of a family whose 13-year-old son, a seventh-grade student who attended Coronado Middle School (CMS), committed suicide in April.
Gabriel Palacios’ parents say he was bullied, both online and in-person, largely because he had Tourette’s syndrome, ADHD and OCD. In February, Palacios inadvertently sent a photo or video that exposed his private parts to his Snapchat followers. Palacios deleted the image/video, however, one follower said he saved it and refused to delete it, according to the complaint.
This only made his experience at school worse, “Everyone at school seemed to know about and wanted to discuss the Snapchat incident,” the complaint states.
On April 6, Palacios’ parents were out of town for a work trip, and he left school early after reporting feeling sick. Later that night, Palacios ended his life.
“He was found by his sister and the family friend watching them,” the complaint states.
Palacios’ family believes that CUSD failed to protect him from harassment, ignored multiple complaints, failed to investigate the bullying and dismissed reports of the image/video distribution without a proper investigation.
Gabriel Palacios’ mother, Orsolya Palacios, met with the CMS vice principal following the photo/video her son accidentally sent. Orsolya Palacios believes that students shared the image on school grounds, during school hours and even identified a specific student by name.
Gomez alleges the vice principal then asked the student if he was involved with the incident, to which the student said no, and the vice principal believed him.
“She took the student at his word, to the best of our knowledge, CMS did not take any further action,” Gomez said.
“The Coronado Unified School District is aware of the legal matter currently pending,” the school district said in a statement. “However, as a matter of policy, the district does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation. We remain committed to transparency and will provide updates as appropriate once the legal process has concluded.”
Gomez, alongside Palacios’ family, held a press conference on Thursday in front of the CUSD office, discussing the complaint filed against them.
At the press conference, Gomez shared that one-time Palacios attempted to go to a school dance and had a wine opener in his bag that he used to open glass sodas at a local Vons store.
He shared that after teachers saw the wine opener they, “expelled Gabriel from the dance and suspended him for two days, accusing him of carrying a weapon on campus.”
The civil rights lawyer believes this is one instance where the vice principal and staff falsely accused the student of misconduct. He suggested that Palacios had been wrongfully accused of misconduct at least two other times.
This made Palacios anxious that he would not be able to transfer to another school, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, Palacios stated that, “When he voiced concerns CMS leadership did not believe him, and he was still being aggressively bullied.”
Mercedes Smith, president of the CMS Parent Teacher Organization, also spoke during the press conference. Smith stated that parents have a responsibility to teach their children not to be bystanders to bullying. She said it can be a matter of life and death.
“The uncomfortable truth we must take responsibility for is that we failed Gabriel,” Smith said. “We failed his family. I say this acknowledging even what myself or my child could have done.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text the 24-hour U.S. national suicide and crisis lifeline at 9-8-8 to speak with counselors. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
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