Gary Byrne Describes Son’s Suicide — Author Gary Byrne has posted a video describing the bullying and indifference by educators that led to suicide of his son, Ethan.
Ethan was a 17-year-old senior at Springfield High School in Delaware County, Pa. when he shot himself in a local park on Oct. 19, 2020.
Byrne filed suit in federal court, on July 19, 2021 against the Springfield Board of School Directors, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Barber and Principal Joseph Hepp for failure to notify them of the bullying their son endured which prevented them from being able to stop his untimely death.
In his video, Byrne says his son made a stupid comment in June 2020 — at the height of the lockdowns and the George Floyd controversy — to a group of online friends regarding Floyd in which he used racially charged language. He was rebuked and apologized.
Byrne says that type of language was not uncommon in the group of teenagers.
One of the group passed it to an African-American girl at the school active in social causes who then spread it throughout social media sites.
Ethan suffered silently through the summer. The final straw came when an SHS graduate attending Penn State texted him threatening his family.
Here is Gary’s video: