Nicholas Kelo, Jr: October 1, 1997 - February 23, 2011

(Rittman, Ohio) Nicholas Kelo Jr., 13, used a gun to commit suicide on Feb. 23 in his home.

His mother Jaqueline Kelo said her son was bullied for many years. “We would talk and he would say [of the bullies] that they were not worth his time,” she said in the Beacon Journal.

It is not known whether Nick considered himself to be gay. However, when he switched extra curricular activities—from football to band—rumors that we was gay circulated through his school. “After that, it [the bullying] spiraled out of control,” mother Jaqueline Kelo said.

Another Rittman mother, whose son has also been subject to bullying, recounted a story about a bus ride home from a football game where Nick was allegedly spit on by an older student. Nick refused to share details and told the other mother he would handle it on his own. Nick’s parents had no knowledge of this attack until after their son’s death.

Jacqueline told the Beacon Journal she wasn’t surprised her son kept the bullying a secret. “He was the man of the house,” she said and described her son as his mother’s protector. Nick scored a 152 on an IQ Test, was second-degree black belt qualified and a creative inventor.