The Latest: School: Video doesn’t support claims about boy

CINCINNATI – The Latest on an 8-year-old who was bullied at school and then killed himself (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

Cincinnati Public Schools says “allegations portrayed in the media” regarding an 8-year-old who killed himself two days after he was knocked unconscious at school aren’t supported by the surveillance video.

The district’s statement Friday followed release of the video showing Gabriel Taye being bullied and falling to the floor unconscious. District officials say police reviewed the video and no charges were filed.

The statement also describes Gabriel as an outstanding young man and extends sympathy to his family. School officials say they are reviewing procedures regarding adult supervision in restrooms

Amy Henson’s daughter attends the same school as Gabriel. Henson says school officials sent a note home with students after his death, saying a child had died in an accident and counsellors would be available for their children.

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4:45 p.m.

A Cincinnati school spokeswoman says an 8-year-old student who killed himself two days after he was knocked unconscious at school never told staff he’d been assaulted or bullied and instead said he had fainted.

Attorneys for Gabriel Taye’s mother say she didn’t learn of the bullying until attorneys received a copy of a homicide detective’s email to school officials describing an attack that was caught on a surveillance camera.

The attorneys have questioned why the mother was told he had fainted on Jan. 24 when the video shows he had been injured by another boy. The spokeswoman said school administrators weren’t aware of the recording until a detective investigating Gabriel’s Jan. 26 death requested surveillance videos from district security officials.

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2:20 p.m.

A handful of parents and others are demonstrating outside the elementary school attended by an 8-year-old Ohio boy who killed himself two days after a bully knocked him unconscious.

The demonstrators outside Carson Elementary School on Friday carried signs with slogans that said, “Say no to bullying” and “Honk for Gabe.”

Surveillance video recorded at the school showed Gabriel Taye trying to shake hands with another child who pushed him against a wall and knocked him unconscious in Jan. 24. Gabriel killed himself at home two days later.

Carolyn Emery has two children at the school and says her daughter was also bullied.

She says another child smacked her daughter in the face. She was upset because nothing was done about it.

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2:05 p.m.

A blurry and choppy surveillance video recorded two days before an 8-year-old Ohio boy killed himself shows him trying to shake hands with another child who pushed against a wall and knocked him unconscious.

On Friday, the Cincinnati Public Schools released the video recorded Jan. 24 outside a school bathroom.

The video appears to confirm the description a homicide detective provided in an email to school officials and one given by Gabriel Taye’s mother’s attorneys. The bully hits one child, sending him to his hands and knees, then pushes Gabriel into a wall about a minute later. Gabriel lies on the floor for 7 1/2 minutes until an assistant principal arrives.

Some children appear to show concern for Gabriel while others poke him or nudge him with their feet.

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10:10 a.m.

An Ohio coroner has reopened its investigation into an 8-year-old boy’s suicide, and his school district is expected to release video showing a bully knocking him unconscious two days before he killed himself.

A Hamilton County coroner’s office spokesman said Friday that new evidence has prompted the reopening of the case, but he wouldn’t say what that evidence is.

A Cincinnati schools spokeswoman says the video might be released Friday.

School officials have been critical of a homicide detective’s description of what happened in the surveillance video recorded Jan. 24.

The detective told school officials the boy tried to shake the bully’s hand and was thrown to the ground. Attorneys for the boy’s mother say the child lay unconscious for 7 1/2 minutes before an assistant principal came to his aid.