The parents of a Coronado Middle School student who died by suicide in April say that school authorities failed to address months of relentless and excessive bullying. With the help of civil rights attorney John Gomez, the family of Gabriel Palacios will file a lawsuit against the Coronado Unified School District.
The family held a press conference at district offices yesterday, announcing the intended litigation. Gomez said the family is demanding accountability and justice in Gabriel’s death, and will continue the fight against bullying in his name.
“Not only did CMS leaders break the law, but by failing to prevent the bullying, they broke Gabriel’s spirit by ignoring him, unjustly disciplining him, and taking away his hope and happiness,” said attorney John Gomez.
Gabriel was 13 years old when he took his life last April, rocking the Coronado community. His parents say that Gabriel struggled with ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome, but was “full of love and adventure.” Things took a bad turn when he accidentally posted a private video to SnapChat in February 2025, resulting in intense bullying from his peers. His family says they immediately reached out to CMS administrators but their concerns were dismissed and no action was taken.
“For two months, my son was relentlessly bullied, tormented and outcasted under the nose of his caregivers,” according to his mom, Orsolya Palacios. “I watched my son’s spirit extinguish, his confidence shatter and his dignity get stolen.”
Gomez said that Gabriel began to isolate himself, seeking solace in the counselor’s office at school instead of socializing with peers.
Things got worse when Gabriel attended a CMS school dance, at the encouragement of his parents. He wore a fanny pack which contained a wine key bottle opener which he used to open up glass bottles of the Italian soda he often drank, according to Gomez. When CMS administrators learned of the wine key, he was kicked out of the dance and suspended for two days for carrying a weapon on campus, said Gomez.
He said that these actions demonstrated a misunderstanding of the disciplinary modifications required under Gabriel’s IEP and his neurodivergent disorder. Gabriel showed extreme anxiety and sadness, and lost all trust in his CMS caregivers. His parents sought transfer to another school, according to Gomez.
Palacios said they continued to meet with administrators but their concerns were “swept under the rug,” making Gabriel “extremely vulnerable.”
“Finally, I watched my son die,” she said. “Gabriel did not deserve this. No one deserves it and it must be stopped.”
His mom said that while Gabriel was very aware of his disabilities, he always ran with them “like a champ” with an “infectious smile on his face.” She said he never asked for any special attention or special consideration for his disabilities. But, like other neurodivergent kids, he was frequently bullied.
“He was young and vulnerable and deserved better from his school, his leadership, and his IEP program,” said Palacios.
According to organizations focusing on bullying and mental health, kids with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their neurotypical peers. In addition, kids with disabilities are already at increased risk of negative mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, according to StopBullying.gov.
Mercedes Smith, the CMS PTO president who works as a suicide prevention advocate, said that that the community needs to take greater responsibility for bullying and the harms it can bring.
“We failed Gabriel and we failed his family,” said Smith. “We have a duty to take accountability, revise policy, and educate our children that being silent or being a bystander can be life or death when it comes to the bullying of vulnerable kids like Gabe.”
On Friday, Sept. 19, the Coronado Unified School District sent out a message regarding the litigation.
The Coronado Unified School District is aware of the legal matter currently pending. However, as a matter of policy, the district does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation. We remain committed to transparency and will provide updates as appropriate once the legal process has concluded.
Ironic that two letters above are from adult bullies who show no respect toward this grieving family or even the writer of this piece.
How pathetic. I’m so sorry for the loss of this boy.
It saddens me that the “go-to” response of a bully is degradation of others. Freedom of speech is misused as the green light for more hateful >yawn!< rhetoric. So predictable. Try empathy.
A couple of red flags that I read in the article. The boy had a “favorite Italian soda”? Hmm? And the lawsuit charges that the school was his caretaker? Holy cow, kids are in school only five hours a day. What were the parents doing to address this child’s mental health the other 21 hours of the day? And if school were so bad, why not move him to another school?
And finally, to call John Gomez a civil rights lawyer is laughable. He’s an ambulance chaser and a skirt chaser. The article reads as if Gomez wrote it.
Bottom line here, the school was not responsible for this young man’s mental health, his parents were. The school had deep pockets so the parents are monetizing their son’s life through a lawsuit. What a shame.