Photo: Stolz Family
“He was so relieved that he had talked to someone,” Stolz’s cousinJazmin said at a news conference Tuesday.“We were on our drive back home, and I turned around and I told him, ‘I’m always going to defend you. You know that, right?’ And he nodded his head, ‘I know.'”
On Tuesday, Diego’s family held a press conference announcing that they were filing a wrongful deathlawsuit against the Moreno Valley Unified School District, accusing the district of failing to adequately respond to Diego’s complaint
“That’s what’s unbelievably devastating to this family, that this could have been prevented,” the family’s attorney, Dave Ring, said. “It could have been prevented if this school took bullying seriously.”
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But when he returned to school that Monday, Sept. 16, the boys were still there, the suit alleges.
Riverside Country Sheriff’s Department
In a statement to local station KTLA, Moreno Valley school district spokeswoman Anahi Velasco denied the district did anything improper.
“The two boys who attacked and killed Diego are responsible for this death,” Velasco wrote in an email to the station.
“Bullying in schools is a national issue. This issue constitutes a shared responsibility amongst parents, students, school district personnel, community leaders and law enforcement,” she said. “Together, we need to send a resounding message these behaviors will not be tolerated in our schools. Keeping kids safe in schools is a high priority at MVUSD.”
During a vigil for Diego, other students and their familiesshared similar complaints about bullyingand accused the district of not taking appropriate action.
The school district did not immediately return PEOPLE’s calls for comment Wednesday.
source: people.com
