Bailey O’Neill – 12 Year-old Bullying Victim Dies – March 2013
Bailey O’Neill passed away the day after his 12th birthday. Bailey had been injured in January 2013 during an incident which occurred at Darby Township (PA) School, in which he had his nose broken and suffered a concussion; over the course of the ensuing weeks he began suffering seizures. Bailey’s parents brought him to hospital, where Bailey was placed into a medically induced coma so as to allow medical personnel the opportunity to diagnose the cause of his seizures.
According to Bailey’s family, he was “jumped” by two students during recess at the school; the two students who attacked Bailey received two-day suspensions from school following the January incident. NBC10 Philadelphia reported:
“Southeast Delco School District Superintendent Stephen D. Butz says the school sends its condolences to the boy’s friends and family. He said additional counselors are being made available for both students and staff.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says investigators are trying to determine if the injuries Bailey received in the fight caused his seizures. Investigators interviewed students and recess aides who were on the playground when the fight broke out.
We can assure them that we are going to continue with our investigation,” said Whelan.”
And with that, we have yet another victim of bullying, that of 12 year-old Bailey O’Neill. We’ll have to await Delaware County District Attorney, Jack Whelan findings to determine the affect the recess beating had on Bailey’s demise; we must however continue to attempt to get out in front of the knee-jerk to violence. Once again we are in a “reactive” mode. Let’s work together to be more proactive and avoid these incidents completely.
—
NBC10 Philadelphia: Counselors Called in After Bullied Boy Dies
Daily Mail UK: Parents’ agony as bullied 12-year-old boy dies weeks after vicious attack by two classmates left him in a coma
Facebook: Prayers for Bailey
Facebook: Building Hope for Bailey
ABC6 Philadelphia: Darby Township boy, Bailey O’Neill Dies
That is not fair at all. This 12 year old boy gets jumped at recess by two little punks and ends up in a coma and then is pronounced dead and all these little pukes get is suspended? Thats a load of crap put those two little pukes in Juvenile Detention Center for murder. If a full grown adult goes out and kills someone and gets thrown in jail for murder, then so should these two bullies. BULLYING MAKES ME VERY ANGRY:(
Thank you Christopher for loving these children and their families, to eulogize them in such a tasteful and heartfelt way. God bless them all, and keep watch over their loved ones.
You know…it seems like the days/months/years go by and nothing changes. In 2008 I wrote an article that was published in the Huffington Post and it resonated around the world. Two years ago, I commented on “where are we now” in regards to that article: http://corinnegregory.com/blog/2011/04/17/bullies-and-bystanders-three-years-later/
Since then, not much is changed. Schools, for the most part would rather prefer the problem just “go away” than take serious, realistic and proven steps to eliminate bullying. They believe a once-a-year “rally” or assembly, or some posters in the halls are all they need to do to “raise awareness.”
SocialSmarts have been offering to DONATE our program (which has been shown not only to eliminate bullying but also increase TEST SCORES) for years. But most schools that contact us find that even answering a few short questions or consider training for successful implementation “too much time” taken away from what they are doing.
Bullying will NOT go away if you pretend it doesn’t exist. You do NOT have a handle on the problem and it’s only getting worse. At what point are enough lives going to be lost and families damaged before we actually DO something that works?
You know where to find us when you are ready to act.
– Corinne Gregory
Corrine, thanks for sharing.
Agree that your solution is one that would be viable. IMO, we must meld yours with others available and come up with community solution which is championed by all.
Thank you for your reading and commenting