Schoolboy kills himself after he was 'bullied for being only male cheerleader on all-girl team'

A 12-year-old boy has taken his own life after school pupils 'bullied him for being a cheerleader', it has been claimed.

Ronin Shimizu had recently been taken out of school after his parents complained of bullying on a number of occasions, but officials said they followed protocol.

The youngster, of Folsom, California, reportedly killed himself on Wednesday afternoon, although police are yet to reveal any further details about his death.

One fellow student from Folsom Middle School told CBS Sacramento: "I heard that people called him gay because he's a cheerleader."

Ronin, a member of the school's drama club, was the only male member of the Vista Junior Eagles Cheer Team until he dropped out amid allegations of severe bullying.

Shortly before his death he had left the public school system and signed up to the Folsom Cordova Unified School District's home-school program.

His parents, who also have a younger son, are yet to comment on the tragedy, but a schools representative confirmed officials would look into how any allegations of bullying were dealt with.

Speaking to Fox40, Daniel Thigpen, of Folsom Cordova School District, said: "Any allegations of bullying related to this specific incident, we're certainly reviewing how we responded to those and we'll use that as an opportunity to always take a look at how we respond to future allegations."

But outside his home, friends spoke of a young boy venomously pursued for doing something he loved.

"I didn't really see why people would tease him because he was so nice," one girl told CBS Sacramento.

Another said: "You shouldn't do that, if that was you, you wouldn't like it."

The school said they have a comprehensive anti-bullying campaign and had even discussed bullying issues in the last couple of weeks.

Ronin had also recently joined the Upper Natoma Rowing Club. Fellow crew member Erik Allen told Fox40: “Anytime I talked to him it really brightened my day and made me feel better."

Hunter Reed, 13, befriended Ronin in Folsom Middle School’s drama club.

“He was always so passionate, like he didn’t care what a lot of people said. He just kept going on with life.

"He was always so happy, like the happiest person I’ve ever met."

Mia Kleinbardt, 11, added: “Bullying him because of cheerleading, it’s not right. It’s what he loves to do and that’s a human right to do that."

A statement on the Vista Junior Eagles website said: "Once an eagle, always an eagle. Tragically, we lost one of our own yesterday, Ronin Shimizu."