'Slut-Shamed' Staten Island Teen Tweets 'I Give Up' Before Jumping In Front of Subway Train
A 15-year-old Tottenville High School student who committed suicide yesterday afternoon at the Huguenot Staten Island Railway station was apparently the victim of ceaseless verbal abuse from classmates that followed her right up to the moment she jumped in front of a subway train.
Friends of Felicia Garcia said she was on receiving end of regular invective barrages, particularly from football players who harassed her over a past relationship with one of the school's athletes.
"This poor girl was called a slut. She was teased on Facebook," a senior named Victoria told the New York Post.
Garcia, a foster child whose parents allegedly passed away, would often complain about her progressively worsening situation on Twitter and Instagram. On Monday, two days before she took her own life, Garcia posted one final tweet: "I can't, I'm done, I give up."
I cant, im done, I give up
— felicia garcia (@feliciagarcia97) October 23, 2012
Some students who were on the train platform with Garcia yesterday said the football players were still taunting her right up to the end, hurling "sexually explicit jeers."
When the train arrived, Garcia reportedly said "Finally it's here," before leaping backwards onto the tracks.
"I hope the football team feels guilty for what they did to her," said Garcia's friend, 15-year-old Stephanie Imparato. "They were torturing her. How can you go through life being verbally assaulted like that? These guys are cruel and malicious."
The NYPD is said to be investigating claims that bullying played a central role in Garcia's suicide.
The same train station was the site of another teen suicide just over two years ago.