Parents say 12-year-old son’s death due to bullying incident

After 12-year-old Philadelphia boy Bailey O’Neill was taken off life support last week, his parents are now pointing to a bullying incident as the cause of his death. The incident, in which O’Neill was punched in the face, occurred on Jan. 10 and left him with a fractured nose, concussion and seizures. The altercation happened during recess at Darby Township School and in the day following, O’Neill’s parents described him as sluggish and moody.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating the incident, which was caught on video, to determine whether bullying is what caused his death. O’Neill suffered seizures after the confrontation until he was placed in a medically induced coma two weeks later at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. No charges have been filed but a boy was identified as the one who punched O’Neill.   
O’Neill’s father said his son told him about bullying issues the week before he was punched at school. O’Neill told his father he did not want to fight and another boy had pushed him into the one who allegedly bullied him.

O’Neill received the last sacraments on March 2, his 12th birthday and died the next day at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His parents described him as an active child who loved sports, video games and skateboarding.