A heartbreaking sequence of events happened in AURORA, Colorado, before a couple prepare to lay their ten-year-old daughter to rest.
“She was just a child of joy and she brought joy to everyone,” her father Anthony Davis told FOX31.
Ashawnty Davis was a fifth grader at Sunrise Elementary School in Aurora. She loved to play basketball and wanted to be a WNBA star.
However, at the end of October, after involving in a fight on Sunrise Elementary property, her parents say something changed in the happy little girl.
“She got into her first ever fight. It was recorded by a student and sent to an app called Musical.ly,” Davis said.
In the video is a group of kids watched the fight between Ashawnty and another girl who had been bullying her according to Ashawnty’s mother.
“I saw my daughter was scared,” Latoshia Harris, Ashawnty’s mother, said.
“She was devastated when she found out that it had made it to Musical.ly,” Davis said.
The 10-year-old girl could not endure the bullying after the video surfaced on the internet and committed suicide.
“My daughter came home two weeks later and hanged herself in the closet,” Harris said.
Ashawnty was on life support for two weeks before passing away Wednesday morning.
“It’s just devastating,” her father said.
Ashawnty is believed to be a victim of “Bullycide.” The term is used for when someone takes his or her own life because of bullying
“We have to stop it and we have to stop it within our kids,” Davis said.
Now they are hoping Ashawnty’s story will help save other lives and help put an end to bullying for good.
“I want other parents to know that it’s happening,” Harris said. “That was my baby and I love my baby and I just want mothers to listen.”
Cherry Creek School District sent the following statement:
“This is a heartbreaking loss for the school community. Mental health supports will be made available for any students who need help processing the loss.
We do not tolerate bullying of any kind in our schools and we have a comprehensive bullying prevention program in place at all of our schools. The safety and wellbeing of students is our highest priority and we strive every today to ensure schools are safe, welcoming and supportive places that support learning.
Ashawnty Davis was a loving and caring girl ( FOX31 Denver )
We were made aware of that video when a media outlet approached us with it. We took immediate action in response, turning the video over to police and addressing the matter with students.
It should also be noted that the video did not take place during school hours.”
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