CLASSMATES of a teen who died by suicide broke down in tears as they described "toxic bullying" at the school that reportedly led to her death.
In Bayville, New Jersey, the father of Central Regional High School student Adriana Kuch, 14, found his daughter dead by suicide on February 3 in their home.
Two days earlier, a video posted on TikTok showed that Adriana had been assaulted by four other teenagers, according to CNN.
The assailants could be seen throwing a drink at Adriana, along with kicking and punching her.
They then dragged her down the hallway and pushed her into lockers, pulling her hair.
The teenagers have been charged for the attack on Adriana and the situation has led to anger and outrage from the 14-year-old's teachers and peers.
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A school board meeting was held this week for the Central Regional School District, where heated comments and heartbreaking pleas could be heard regarding a culture of bullying at the school.
“[Adriana] already reported numerous reports about how she was being bullied, and you guys just sat there and did nothing,” Hailie Engesser, a ninth grader and one of Adriana's friends, told the school board.
“It’s actually really, really hard to be going to school because of all the bullying and everything that’s been going on.
"But it’s the fact that you didn’t notify the police about that or about Adriana. She was on the floor blacked out … You guys could have prevented that."
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Other students came forward to tell their stories of being bullied at the school, including one student who even compared the environment to jail, per The New York Post.
“I have been called multiple racist things, multiple slurs, to the point where if I hear [them], I don’t bat an eye. I’m used to it,” sophomore Roman Velez, 16, said.
Velez claimed that his requests to school officials about the alleged racist remarks were "swept under the rug."
“When people ask me what my experience at Central Regional is, it’s not, ‘I went to CR.’
"It’s ‘I survived CR,’ because coming to the school, it’s like being in a prison,” he continued.
Parents have also passionately vocalized their stance on the matter, including Rachael O'Dea, whose 14-year-old daughter endured an almost identical attack at Central Regional in January last year.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, O'Dea said her daughter - like Adriana - was jumped from behind by a group of girls who struck her in the head, neck, and back upwards of 30 times.
One of the attackers pinned her daughter down while a second repeatedly hit her, court documents state.
A third attacker filmed the assault and later posted the video on social media, leading to a wave of online abuse and harassment.
O'Dea claims that the three individuals responsible for the assault on her daughter are "friends of friends" with the group who attacked Adriana.
She said there is a "problematic" circle of friends at Central Regional who have not been adequately dealt with by school officials.
In the weeks preceding the attack, O'Dea said her daughter told campus officials she was being stalked and threatened by her eventual attackers but no action was taken.
The school superintendent resigned after criticism following Adriana's death.
Dr Triantafillos Parlapanides stepped down after concern was raised over his comments about Adriana's behavior and possible drug use.
He told DailyMail.com that he had "nothing more to say" when he was asked if the comments were an attempt to avoid blame and if he thought they were insensitive.
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Parlapanides also reportedly told the Daily Mail that the girl was troubled with issues at home.
Kuch's father has characterized the gruesome attack before his daughter's death as “meaningless bullying” and vowed to get justice for his daughter.
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