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Inset: Jocelynn Rojo Carranza (GoFundMe). Background: Gainesville Intermediate School (Google Maps).
An 11-year-old girl in Texas killed herself earlier this month after a prolonged period of bullying about her family’s immigration status, her mother says.
On Feb. 3, Jocelynn Rojo Carranza fatally injured herself at her home in Gainesville, a small city located just a few miles south of the Oklahoma border.
The girl’s condition seemed to wax and wane for a while, as doctors made changes to her regimen at an intensive care unit in a Dallas hospital, according to a GoFundMe started by her father when she was still alive. But Jocelynn slowly died over the following days — finally succumbing to her injuries on Feb. 8.
“This helplessness hurts my soul and it is not easy for me or for any of her relatives who were present in her life as a child and knowing that she is no longer with us breaks my heart into pieces,” Ernesto Alonso Rojo said in a series of updates to the fundraiser after his daughter passed away. “Although my heart and my soul are dying, at this moment I have to continue for myself and my other little cherubs.”
A separate GoFundMe was also started by the girl’s aunt.
The girl’s death came after months of relentless taunting by her sixth-grade classmates at Gainesville Intermediate School, a fifth and sixth-grade school located some 70 miles north of Dallas, according to comments her mother, Marbella Carranza, made to Univision.
The bullying was due to the girl’s Hispanic ethnicity — culminating with threats from other students that they would call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her parents, her mother told the network. By the end of her life, Jocelynn attended counseling between once and twice per week due to the bullying, according to her mother.
During the bullying episodes, other students made fun of the girl by saying that she would have to live alone after her parents were deported, her mother added.
“I waited a whole week for a miracle that my daughter would be well, but unfortunately nothing could be done,” the grieving mother said. “My daughter will always live for me, and I will always love her.”
Now, the girl’s family wants a serious investigation into the cruel circumstances that led to Jocelynn’s too-young death.
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“This incident is still being actively investigated so I am unable to comment on the investigation at this time,” a spokesperson for the Gainesville Police Department told Law&Crime.
The police department also said the “bullying allegations” were being investigated by the Gainesville Independent School District Police Department.
Law&Crime reached out to ISD’s police department for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
The school district itself acknowledged Jocelynn’s death in a letter sent to “GISD families” on Valentine’s Day.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of a loss to our school community,” the letter reads. “A Gainesville Intermediate student passed away this week. Our heart goes out to the student’s family during this difficult time.”
The school district’s letter continued:
This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school, especially our students. As a family, you know your child best, and we recommend that you talk about this news together. You may want to explain how your family understands and copes with loss, as well as how your student can be a supportive friend to classmates. The most important thing students need at this time is an opportunity to be heard and to express their feelings.
Law&Crime reached out to Gainesville ISD for additional comment on this story. The school district responded with a statement containing their anti-bullying policies.
The statement reads, in full:
The top priority of the Gainesville ISD is to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students. Because of this, we take any reports of bullying at our schools very seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy.
Whenever we receive a report of bullying, we respond swiftly to ensure all students are safe physically and emotionally. While we cannot release any information about specific students or incidents, our schools have several policies in place to combat bullying and resolve conflicts.
These policies provide opportunities to report such behavior. If a report arises, the District immediately takes all steps necessary to respond appropriately. We have been, and will continue to be proactive in our efforts to make sure our schools are safe, secure, and free from harassment.
Jocelynn’s mother addressed the school’s response to the bullying in her comments to Univision.
“It looks like the school was aware of it, but they never let me know the news,” she said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or considering self-harm, help is available immediately at the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
