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Home Page > News > Irish police investigate suicide of 12-year-old girl amid bullying claims

Irish police investigate suicide of 12-year-old girl amid bullying claims

Lara Burns is third young girl to take her own life in a month

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, November 26, 2012, 7:17 AM

Updated Monday, November 26, 2012, 9:19 AM

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Laura Burns committed suicide having been the victim of cyber bullying

Photo by Irish Sun

Irish police are investigating claims that a 12-year-old girl who took her own life was the victim of bullying.

The latest bullying case in Ireland involves the death of Lara Burns in the Kildare town of Maynooth.

Lara took her own life on Saturday night and her heartbroken parents have asked police to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

The Irish Sun reports that officers are now actively investigating whether Lara may have been the victim of bullying.

A source told the paper: “An investigation into this girl’s death has been launched by police after her parents expressed some concerns.”

Another local source, who asked not to be named, said: “The rumours going around Maynooth are that she was a victim of bullying, but it’s very hard to know at this stage.

“We don’t know the full circumstances of her death yet, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Read News: Internet and Facebook bullying comes home to haunt Irish parents

Friends of the schoolgirl have paid tribute to her on social media.

The paper reports that one said: “rip lara . . my heart goes out to ur family and friends. ths should not hav happend it is a total disgrace that some people think its ok to bully a young girl to death... heartbreakin. [sic]”

Another wrote: “It’s sick to see what bullying makes people do. Yesterday we lost a innocent girl because of it. We have to take action. R.I.P.”

Lara’s suicide is the third teenage death in Ireland to be linked with bullying in recent months following cases in Leitrim and Donegal.

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jacersagain | Nov 26, 2012, 05:37 PM EST

This is once again a tragic case of a child doing what they don’t know what they are doing – to themselves and to their ‘left behind’ family and friends. I’d add further to that by adding adult suicides doing what they don’t fully appreciate what they are doing, which I believe are committed by distraught ‘out-of-their minds’ people. The subject of suicide by any person pains me greatly since I’ve experienced the pain of those left behind by suicides. But I want to draw attention to the suspicion that Laura died amid bullying claims and to similar occurrences of suicides amongst young people within a close local network or “area” (internet social sites included). In Wales, there was a recent spate of local suicides involving young people - allegedly because of social media network influences. It stopped as suddenly as it started. So far, no one has come forward to explain why that spate started and why it ended just as quickly. Does anyone in the UK (or anywhere) have anything to offer on that? Maybe people experiencing similar incidents will come forward and help the next potential suicide to reconsider the preciousness of their lives. May Laura rest in peace in the loving arms of Jesus and His Holy Mother.

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jacersagain | Nov 26, 2012, 05:09 PM EST

pardon me typo mistake... I typed 's' instead of 't' in 'són'.

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cabbagehead44 | Nov 26, 2012, 12:57 PM EST

This is really tragic! I hope the National Schools realize that they need an effective program to combat bullying and a counseling program for the victims of bullies to seek help. I can't believe that this type of behavior is allowed to continue without anyone in the educational system addressing the problem. If the parents take no responsibility or are ignorant, then it should be the responsibility of the school system and the police to address the issue.

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Irishphotograph | Nov 26, 2012, 10:39 AM EST

Okay this is gone beyond an isolated case. Children have no business being on social media sites without adult supervision. They are incapable of being responsible with their words and actions.

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