The mother of a 14-year-old son who became the third transgender teen to commit suicide in the area of Vista, California said her son was bullied online, KGTV reports.
Katharine Prescott, mother of the transgender teen, Kyler, told KGTV that her son was harassed on the social media site Kik weeks before he committed suicide.
"He said, 'Mom, they said horrible, sexual things and told me I shouldn't be alive,'" said Prescott.
Kyler was born female. After he told his family that he identified as a boy, his family showed him full support.
"I embraced him the moment he told me," said Prescott.
Two years ago, Kyler sank into depression and started to cut himself. When puberty hit, his depression deepened despite the support from his family.
"It was agony for him to undress and shower. He was trapped in the wrong body," Prescott told KGTV.
With the help of support groups, counseling and hormone blockers, Kyler stopped cutting himself for the last year. But after he was harassed on Kik on Easter Sunday, he started to cut himself again, according to his mother.
Six weeks later, he locked himself in the bathroom and took his own life. Paramedics broke down the door and found his body. The specifics of the suicide are not disclosed because Prescott said she didn't want to know them.
"I feel so broken inside. I feel like my soul has been ripped from my body," said Prescott, choking back her grief.
Kyler, a pianist, artist and animal lover, is the third local trans teen who has committed suicide since March.
"It tells me how hard a road these kids are walking, and that's whey the need to be supported, by both family and the community," said Prescott.
The coming out of Bruce Jenner showed that the world was "slowly changing" for transgender people, but "when you're a teenager, slowly changing is not enough," said Prescott.
"What Kyler and a lot of these youths feel is this world is still a tough place for them," said Prescott. "While he had friends and a family that loved him, he was constantly being referred to by acquaintances by the wrong pronoun. Each time, that tore him up inside."
"He also wanted surgery on his chest, but most are told they can’t have that surgery until they are 18," she added.
Suicide has become a major health risk for transgender youth. A recent study shows half of transgender people have attempted suicide at least once by the age of 26, according to KGTV.
Watch video below, courtesy of KGTV.
