On Tuesday of this week, Brandy Vela sent a text message to her siblings. “I love you so much just remember that please and I’m so sorry for everything,” it read. Just moments after sending the message, Vela committed suicide via self-inflicted gunshot wound, pulling the trigger in front of her parents and grandparents in her Texas bedroom. She was 18 years old. What led to this horrible tragedy? According to CNN reporting, Brandy’s relatives – most notably her sister, Jackie Vela – think her suicide was the result of years of endless cyberbullying. “People would make up fake Facebook accounts, and they would message her, and she wouldn’t respond, and they would still come at her,” Jackie told CNN two days after saying goodbye to her sister. “They would say really, really mean things like, ‘Why are you still here?’ They would call her fat and ugly. She was beautiful, absolutely; the only thing people could find to pick on her was her weight.” In an interview with local station KPRC-TV, Jackie even explained how trolls would create fake dating profiles. They went to every possible end in order to torment this poor teenager. “They would put her number and they would put her pictures [on the sites] and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for sex for free, to call her,” Jackie said. Police were alerted to these instances of bullying on numerous occasions, but there was very little they could do about it. “They couldn’t do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn’t traceable and they couldn’t do something until something happened, like [a] fight,” Jackie explained. Jackie called her parents and grandparents after she received the aforementioned text message. These relatives then rushed home, entered Brandy’s room and bore witness to the unimaginable act of their loved one killing herself. Texas City Independent School District spokeswoman Melissa Tortorici told Us Weekly in a statement that Brandy “had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers.” In an email to CNN, she added: “Brandy was well-liked and friendly. Texas City High School students really liked her. She has touched many people as evident by the outpouring of love from her schoolmates.” Brandy’s organs, including her beautiful blue eyes, are being donated to those in need. And sheriff’s deputies will be addressing cyberbullying with students next week. “Today’s young adults and teenagers have grown up with technology and they have access to it 24/7. Many times they become very bold over technology and text things they would never say directly to someone’s face,” Tortorici said. She concluded: “It’s extremely difficult to stop someone from sending messages when apps make it easy to remain anonymous.” What a truly horrific story. May Brandy Vela rest in peace.
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Bullied Teen Commits Suicide, Shoots Self in Front of Parents
