In a heartbreaking incident that has shaken the community, Daniel Joseph Fitzpatrick, a young boy just weeks shy of his 14th birthday, made a drastic decision that forever changed the lives of those around him: he took his own life.
The devastating discovery was made by his 17-year-old sister, Kristen, who found him hanging from his own belt. Overwhelmed with grief and anguish, their parents, Maureen and Daniel Sr., felt compelled to share their son’s story.
It was revealed that Daniel had been relentlessly harassed, and tragically, he believed that ending his life was the only way to escape the torment. His suicide note, spanning multiple pages, shed light on the extent of the bullying he endured, told NY Post.
One excerpt from the note reads: “… Anthony took it all out on me. He bullied me along with John, Marco, Jose, and Jack. They did it constantly until I got into a fight with Anthony. Everyone stopped except John; he was angry… I ended up fighting John and got a fractured pinkie.” Known as Danny to his loved ones, he expressed how he was targeted for his weight, grades, and perceived lack of toughness compared to others. He also expressed deep disappointment in the lack of support from his teachers: “I gave up. The teachers either didn’t do ANYTHING.”
Daniel’s father, driven by a desire to make his son’s story known, explained, “My son’s story is now out there for the world to see and for the world to know the pain that he went through. No child should have to go through what my son went through.” He further criticized the school’s handling of the situation, sharing, “All I got was, and all HE got was, ‘He’ll be fine. Is he in counseling? You have to try harder, Danny. These things will pass.'”
The grieving father didn’t hold back his feelings toward the parents of the boys involved in the bullying either, stating, “You get to hold your children every night and every day for the rest of your lives and their natural lives. I don’t get that anymore. Your little monsters took that from me, and my wife, and his sisters. Danny was a kind, gentle little soul. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body… I just want to hear him say, ‘good morning, Dad’ one more time so I could tell him ‘good morning’ and ‘I love you,’ which I did every day.”
By sharing Daniel’s letter, his father hopes to draw attention to the serious issue of bullying and its devastating consequences when victims feel trapped with no way out. It is a plea for society to address this urgent problem, ensuring that no child ever feels compelled to take their own life as a means of escape from relentless torment.
