An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy took his own life last week after ongoing anti-gay bullying by his classmates. Suicide: Carl Walker-Hoover Carl Walker-Hoover, who would have turned 12 on Friday, did not even identify himself as gay, but faced relentless taunts about his sexuality at school and on the internet. Carl's mom, Sirdeaner Walker, found him hanging from an extension cord at home. "I called his name, he didn't answer. I went upstairs and that's when I found Carl. It's unbelievable, worst nightmare experience in my life." Hundreds turned out for his funeral yesterday. Walker told ABC News she'll now speak for her son since he can no longer speak for himself. "They were always saying 'you're gay', 'you must be gay', you act like a girl," she explains. A recent study showed that almost 9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment in the past year because of their sexual orientation. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLESN) says Walker-Hoover is the fourth pre-high school child suicide linked to anti-gay bullying this year. A National Day of Silence is planned this Friday across the United States to raise awareness of homophobic bullying. ABC News' report on this story is shown below.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 15th April 2009 - 4:17pm