After experiencing severe bullying at school, a 10-year-old kid from Indiana committed suicide, according to his family and local media.
Fourth-grader Sammy Teusch passed away on May 5th at Greenfield Intermediate School in Greenfield, Indiana, as a result of verbal and physical abuse.
“How could God take my kid from here? Of course that was going through my head. God didn’t take my kid; hate did,” Sammy’s father, Sam Teusch, stated.
Sammy was recently confronted in a school restroom and harassed on the bus.
“I just want him to never be forgotten,” Sam Teusch stated.
Sammy’s family posted on GoFundMe, calling the 10-year-old “the best kid with a wonderful personality.”
“He was smart, funny, charming and deeply empathetic. He brightened the lives of anyone he encountered and was the life of the ‘party,’” as per the GoFundMe description. “I know my baby brother didn’t deserve this. A kid with so much love and so much light gone too soon. None of this makes sense and I don’t think it ever will but what I do know is that he deserves a proper send off. Me and my family are asking for help to do just that.”
It’s not precisely apparent how Sammy passed away. Along with the Greenfield Police Department, the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation is looking into Sammy’s death.
“The death of Samuel Teusch is tragic, and it has left our school corporation and larger community in tremendous grief. Our hearts pour out to the family at this time,” the school district stated. “Sammy was a student in Greenfield-Central for the last year and a half. He finished his 3rd grade year at Weston Elementary School in May of 2023, and he was a 4th grade student at Greenfield Intermediate School during the current 2023-24 school year.”
The school district stated that it was notified of Sammy’s passing on Sunday, May 5, and that at the beginning of the week, it sent a crisis response team to Greenfield Intermediate School and Greenfield Central Junior High School, the schools attended by Sammy’s siblings.
“We have been fortunate to have an outpouring of support from our Hancock County school peers and the faith community, who also made themselves available to our students and families,” the school district added. “We have continued to provide additional mental health professionals in these two schools this week, and we have reminded all G-C families that we have mental health professionals in all eight of our schools to support our students throughout this crisis.”
According to the district, employees at Greenfield-Central have “worked with the Teusch family quite a bit over the last 18 months.”
“Contact between school personnel and the parents was frequent,” the district stated. “The parents did report the manner of death as a suicide, and we are investigating their claims related to bullying. Beyond our own investigations we are cooperating with the Greenfield Police Department in this matter.”
Chief Brian Hartman of the Greenfield Police Department warned of “rumors” being shared in the community on May 10th, stating that “some naming children.”
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“I want to assure our community we are continuing to investigate this death in the same manner we investigate every death. We continue to interview people that may or may not be involved. This is how we sort truth from rumors,” Hartman stated, adding that many elements of the case cannot be made public due to the involvement of minors.
“Now is a time for the conversation,” Hartman further added. “If your child is being bullied, speak up about it. Give your children the confidence to tell a teacher, school counselor, principal, parent or other trusted adult. If the bullying continues, continue to tell someone. If they don’t get relief from that person, tell someone else, but please make sure they are speaking up for themselves. If that doesn’t work, please call the police department and we will help resolve the issue in any way we can.”
