LEWISVILLE - The lawyers for Montana Lance's family say the boy was bullied on the day of his death.
The nine-year-old committed suicide more than two years ago at his school, Stewarts Creek Elementary in the Colony. He was found in the nurse's bathroom, where he locked himself.
His family has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Lewisville ISD.
Montana was a victim on non-stop, incessant harassment and bullying at Stewarts Creek up until the day he died, said Lance family attorney, Melissa Wray.
Montana had a learning disability and a lisp. His parents have always blamed bullying for their son's death and believe the district failed to protect their son.
His family's lawyers gave News 8 transcripts and videos of parents and students they interviewed for their case. All of them stated that Montana was constantly being bullied and that bullying is an issue at the school. The legal team says their investigation proves there's a problem.
One former student also said he was there, in the school office, near thenurse'soffice, on the day Montana took his life.
Yes, he was telling me about getting shoved into a pole and what happened, thechild said.
The former student's mother said she pulled her kids out of school after Montana's death. She claims her children were also bullied.
My concerns were never an issue, the parent said. You know, like, I would call with a concern, and yeah they're concerned and they're going to do something about it, and they would never do anything about it.
A LISD spokeswoman sent us this statement Thursday: During this time, the Lewisville Independent School District's thoughts are with the Lance family, as they have suffered a tremendous loss, said Karen Permetti from LISD's communication office. Due to pending litigation, the district is unable to comment on any questions related to this case.
A district internal investigation conducted after the incident found that bullying was not connected to Montana's suicide.
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Complete Statements
From Lewisville ISD:
During this time, the Lewisville Independent School District s thoughts are with the Lance family as they have suffered a tremendous loss. Due to pending litigation, the district is unable to comment on any questions related to this case.
From the Lance family attorneys:
Montana Lance was a victim of incessant bullying at Stewarts Creek Elementary School for half of his unnecessarily short life. Our investigation has revealed that vulnerable students were frequently bullied, but school officials ignored the complaints of these children and their parents.
