The Coronado Unified School district has rejected the claim filed against the district by the Palacios family, who say their son, Gabriel Palacios, died by suicide after middle school authorities failed to address relentless bullying.
On Thursday, September 25, the school board trustees met in a special closed meeting for about two hours where they took action to reject the claim.
According to a statement sent out by the district, “the facts do not support the claims made against the District.” The message also says that there are statements in the claim that are “based on misinformation.”
Just last week, attorney John Gomez of Gomez Trial Attorneys held a press conference with the Palacios family outside of district offices. There, Gomez announced the intended litigation, claiming that CMS leaders broke the law by failing to prevent the bullying.
Gabriel was 13 years old when he took his life last April. His parents say that Gabriel — who struggled with ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome — accidentally posted a private video to Snapchat in February 2025, resulting in intense bullying from his peers. They say appropriate measures were not taken to stop the bullying.
Gomez said at the press conference that if the district rejects the claim, the Palacios family will file a lawsuit against the district. They have six months to file the lawsuit and, according to Gomez, it would likely go to trial in 1.5 years.
The complete statement from the district reads as follows:
Coronado Unified School District officials are deeply saddened by the death of seventh grade student Gabriel Palacios in April of 2025 and have extended deepest condolences and support to his family.
At a special Board meeting held on September 25, 2025, the Board took action to reject the government tort claim that was filed against the Coronado Unified School District by Gomez Trial Attorneys on behalf of the Palacios family. Based upon the investigation and
information the District has obtained to date, the facts do not support the claims made
against the District. There are statements in the claim based on misinformation. While the
District cannot comment on details of the misinformation outside of the legal process, the
District will fully defend itself and its staff against the claims made.
Good
My son went to one of the elementary schools in Coronado. He was bullied so terribly I took him out of Coronado school district. The principal did nothing about the situation that went on for 2 years. I’m heartbroken for the family. The school district needs to step up and stop protecting the bullies in the schools.
Who was the Mayor when that took place?