Parents Find Bullied Teen Victim of Suicide

HOUSTON - A 13-year-old boy has died and his parents say he was bullied to death.

Just one month into the 2010-2011 school year, David and Amy Truong say their son was fed up with his classmates calling him names.

Asher Brown came home from school Thursday while his parents were at work. They say he took his own life so he would not have to be bullied anymore.

"He was just such a sweet boy," says Brown's mother Amy Truong.

David Truong says he arrived home finding his stepson shot to death.

"I thought he was laying there reading a book or something. My son put a gun to his head because he couldn't take what he was hearing and the constant teasing," says David Truong.

Brown's mother arrived home from work finding her home in chaos.

"I saw yellow tape and police cars in front of my house," says Amy Truong while choking back tears of mourning.

Brown was in eighth grade at Hamilton Middle School.

A "No Bullying School Zone" sign is clearly posted out front; a sign the Truongs say their son's tormentors ignored for two years.

"It's just not fair and the ultimate result is my son is dead. He just couldn't take it anymore," says Amy Truong.

The family actually relocated to the Cypress-Fairbanks area, away from another district because they say Asher Brown was also being bullied there -- a move they say only made things worse.

"For some reason, he stood out and people were just cruel. Kids were cruel to my kid. He was very different. He's not the type of kid that would try to wear the newest clothes or try to do the coolest thing. He was an individual," says David Truong.

"Asher was a great boy. He was very smart," says his mother.

The Truongs say over this past summer, Brown confided in them that he was gay. The parents say the conversation went so well, they believe he went on to confess to children at his school.

"They called him different names for being homosexual. He just had enough," says David Truong.

Facebook is now full of condolences for the 13-year-old student. An outpouring of love from his peers, over his death. Love he obviously did not feel in life.

"It has to stop. I don't want any other family to have to go make funeral arrangements like I did for my son. He wasn't supposed to die at 13," says Amy Truong.

The Truongs say their son often tried to hide that he was being picked on because he felt the bullying would get worse if he told. They say the night before his suicide, he seemed sad. When they asked what was wrong, they say they let it go after he said he was fine.

They are encouraging other parents to push past the "I'm fine," because Asher Brown is proof the problem could be much more serious than anyone would imagine.