The Monday death of a 10-year-old South Buffalo Charter School student from Lackawanna is being called a "tragic accident."
“I have 10-year-old male that was fooling around with a belt, a belt buckle, and he tied it around his neck and he was up on a bunk bed,” said Lackawanna Police Captain Joseph Leo.
“He truly, truly made a mistake and it was an accident and that’s the way it really happened. He wasn’t trying to do anything to himself. It was an accident and it was a tragic situation and the family needs some peace,” Captain Joseph Leo stated.
Captain Leo tells WBFO News the boy accidentally slipped from the top of the bunk bed. The belt got caught on the bed frame and the child struggled to get the buckle loss.
Captain Leo stressed the boy was not bullied, as some have been reporting on social media.
“There’s been a lot of stuff on social media that I wanted to clear up for the family. Everyone was saying that he was bullied at the charter school in south Buffalo and this was one of the reasons why he may have tried to do something to himself, which is totally not true,” Captain Leo explained.
Leo said the child did not intentionally take his own life.
“He truly, truly made a mistake and it was an accident and that’s the way it really happened. He wasn’t trying to do anything to himself. It was an accident and it was a tragic situation and the family needs some peace,” Captain Leo stated.
The family claims the boy was not distraught.
“This kid had a great weekend with his family for Father’s Day, and he has a nice family, they all are supportive of him,” said Captain Leo.
The South Buffalo Charter School issued a written statement saying the school community is grieving the loss.
“Our school community is grieving the unfortunate loss of a student. Out of respect for the student, the student’s family, and all those in our community impacted by this loss, we respectfully ask for privacy in this matter.”
At this time, police and school are not releasing the boy’s name out of respect for the family.
“Anytime you have a child that something happens to like this, it’s not easy for anyone to deal with,” noted Captain Leo. “It is important for people not to make things up and judge what this little guy did. This tragically ended in a bad matter.”