By AFRO Staff
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Carl Joseph Walker (Courtesy Photo)
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(April 15, 2009) - Middle school students dressed in T-shirts and jeans, solemn community members and tearful relatives of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker, found hanging by an extension cord in his mother’s home on the night of April 6, turned out to mourn the Massachusetts child’s death Monday, masslive.com reports.
Police believe the child committed suicide after complaining of vicious taunts at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Mass., where he was a sixth grader. Walker’s mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, said she phoned the school repeatedly since Carl began attending in September, but the bullying persisted. He was allegedly the target of anti-gay joke, threats and other chides about his clothing.
On the day of his death, Carl told his mother he’d accidentally hit a TV at the school with his backpack and the TV bumped into a girl, who threatened him with harm. He called his mother after school and said he had gotten a five-day suspension, according to Walker, although school officials deny the incident took place.
"If anything can come of this, it's that another child doesn't have to suffer like this and there can be some justice for some other child. I don't want any other parent to go through this," she said.
Donations can be made to assist the Walker family by contacting the school New Leadership Charter School, spsnlcs.com.