A 12-year-old girl was found dead Tuesday inside a boarding school in Washington D.C.
The body of the child, a seventh-grader, was found at The SEED Public Charter School of Washington (SEED DC), police said. Her death is being investigated as an apparent suicide, police sources told News4.
Parents at the school were called and told to pick up their children.
Keana Bedney-Wallace, the parent of another student at the school, spoke outside the school about the tragedy.
"It's really sad that at 12 years old you feel like the only solution is to take your life. It's heartbreaking," she said. "I'm a mom of five, and I couldn't imagine. I pray for the family, that they get through this."
D.C. police responded to the school on the 4300 block of C Street SE, near East Capitol Street, for a report of an unconscious person. The child was found dead in her dorm room.
The parents of two students at the school told News4 their children told them the girl had been bullied. The school did not respond to an inquiry about whether the child had been bullied.
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Earlier in the day, the school issued a brief statement.
"We are deeply saddened to report that a SEED DC student unexpectedly passed away this morning. This is of course a terrible tragedy for the family first and foremost, as well as for the entire SEED Community," the statement said. "We ask that you respect the privacy of the family and of our community of scholars and teachers in their mourning."
Opened in 1998, SEED DC is a public, college-preparatory boarding school that serves 370 students in grades six through 12. Ninety-one percent of its graduates have enrolled in college, and 80 percent are first-generation college students, the school's website says.
For a long list of mental health resources, see News4's ongoing Changing Minds coverage.
