A New Jersey teenage girl committed suicide on February 3 after a video showing her being attacked by other girls in her high school circulated on social media.
Adriana Kuch, a 14-year-old student at the Central Regional High School in Berkeley, New Jersey was found dead at her home two days after being physically assaulted, police said.
A shocking video posted on social media on February 1, shows Adriana walking with her boyfriend in the hallway of her high school, and being attacked by several students with a water bottle. The video clip, which lasts about 20 seconds, shows one girl yelling at Adriana that she is a “stupid bitch” who deserves to be beaten up.
The victim was kicked and punched as students laughed and recorded the incident.
Kuch’s devastated dad, Michael Kuch, said his daughter committed suicide because of the humiliation she was put through by insensitive and reckless students. She had been bullied before. The video was the last straw.
Kuch said that his daughter lost consciousness during the attack, but the school officials did not call 911. Instead, they brought her to the nurse’s office.
Police arrested four girls and charged three with felony assault in the third degree and one with disorderly conduct.
The superintendent of the school district told reporters that the school administration didn’t call the police after the attack due to school protocol, which is to suspend the students and let parents decide if they want to press charges.
Kuch believes the school should have filed a police report immediately after the attack, and that he had to take his blood-covered daughter to the police station himself. He wants justice for his daughter and wants to see the attackers pay for the crime that led to his daughter’s death.
Kuch also said that the Ocean County School District should be held accountable for not dealing with bullying and harassment in their schools. He said his daughter was a victim of bullying several times before the last incident that led to her suicide.
Hundreds of students from the Central Regional High School walked out in protest of the school’s handling of the bullying incident.