The Heard County School District and the Heard County Sheriff's Office announced that an investigation is underway into claims of bullying leading up to the tragic suicide of 15-year-old Austin McEntyre on November 6. The teen student was a freshman at Heard County High School.
Austin's mother, Lisa McEntyre, said her son claimed on November 4 that he was sick and did not want to go to school. Lisa said she questioned her son and would have made him do a nasal swab test to check if he had COVID-19 when Austin finally admitted he was not sick.
She asked him, "Will you please be honest with me?" Austin replied that he was being bullied at school. Lisa asked him what they had been doing, and he said they did what's called "pantsed" me on Wednesday.
Lisa called the principal after learning that her son was bullied
Lisa explained that they pantsed him with his shorts and underwear this time, Crime Online reported. After learning of her son's bullying claims, Lisa immediately called the school principal.
The principal assured her that he would be looking into the matter. Lisa said she learned the incident was being addressed that same afternoon, and those involved in the bullying were being dealt with according to the disciplinary guidelines of the school.
She thought things were on the up and up with Austin. Lisa talked to her son about the incident, but the teen said he was a little reluctant to give a lot of detail about how badly he was being bullied in school outside of this one incident that occurred on Wednesday.
Lisa noted that the two of them had a great afternoon once her son returned from work on Saturday. They went for a walk on their property and talked about many things. At one point in their conversation, she said that Austin did not feel he had many friends.
Lisa asked her son if he would ever commit suicide
Lisa told 11 Alive she was surprised by her son's statement and reassured Austin that he did. That statement, however, and the bullying incident that transpired earlier in the week made Lisa ask her son if he would ever commit suicide. She was comforted when Austin told her without hesitation that he would not commit suicide.
Lisa added she and Austin had a relatively normal Saturday night, with her going to bed and her teen son staying up for a while. She then went to work on Sunday morning and called her son at 9:26 a.m.
They talked briefly, with Lisa telling Austin she loved him and would see him in a little while. Austin told his mom he loved her, too. Lisa did not know at the time that it would be the last phone call between her and Austin.
