Hundreds of people, including more than 100 bikers, showed up to mourn a 10-year-old boy Indiana who killed himself — reportedly after suffering months of horrific bullying at school.
Tearful mourners arrived at the Brandywine Church on Tuesday accompanied by a fleet of bikers to say goodbye to Sammy Teusch, a fourth-grader at Greenfield Intermediate School who was bullied right up until the night he took his own life, WTHR reported.
The bikers, who volunteered with the Iron Sharpens Iron Motorcycle Ministry, revved their motorcycles as Sammy’s uncles and older brothers carried the tiny casket out of the church and into a hearse.
Nichole Teusch/Facebook
WTHR
WTHR
The riders then joined a procession headed to a Greenfield cemetery, where Sammy was laid to rest.
The boy’s family and classmates were seen sobbing, hugging each other, and placing flowers over the casket during the burial.
“Iron Sharpens Iron Motorcycle Ministry was honored to be able to participate in the funeral escort for Sammy Teusch,” the group said in a statement. “Rain or shine, [the] motorcycle community came together once again supporting a family in need.”
Sammy’s parents, Sam and Nichole, said their son was the victim of relentless bullying that started last year, with the bullies targeting the boy over his teeth and glasses.
“He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything,” Sam told the local outlet.
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The Teusches said they complained to the school roughly 20 times about the bullying, but that nothing was ever done to help their son.
“I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse,’” Sam added.
The school district’s superintendent, Dr. Harold Olin, denied any bullying reports had ever been submitted by either the parents or the boy.