The parents of the Washington, D.C. high school athlete who committed suicide have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his private school.
Charlie Schnell, 16, took his own life in March 2022 after facing extreme bullying and threats of violence after a classmate accused him of drawing a racist drawing, according to his parents, Dawn and Scott Schnell.
The heartbroken parents say their only son was never given the chance to respond to the allegations.
Charlie also faced discipline for a separate incident and was given the option to withdraw or be expelled with no appeal option at the Landon School in Bethesda.
He died 13 days later, after deciding to withdraw from the all-boys school.
Charlie Schnell, 16, took his own life in March 2022 after facing extreme bullying and threats of violence after a classmate accused him of drawing a racist drawing, according to his parents Dawn and Scott Schnell.
On January 4, the parents revealed that they had filed a lawsuit against the school in hopes of holding them accountable and asked their son’s friends to reveal any information about Charlie.
On January 4, the parents revealed that they had filed a lawsuit against the school in hopes of holding them accountable and asked their son’s friends to reveal any information about Charlie they might have. instagram.
‘Our lawsuit focuses on Landon’s duty to protect all of his students, including Charlie.
“You all know how much Charlie loves his friends and would like his death to lead to protections for each of you and other children in the future,” the post read.
According to the Washington Postwrote the Schnells’ lawyers in court papers: “The suicide was the foreseeable consequence of egregious failures by the defendants to protect him from harm and to warn his parents of such harm.”
The parents also said that another student had threatened a mass shooting and Charlie wrote a journal entry saying he was worried, which they found months after his death.
They allege that their English teacher read the entry but never informed them or the school that Charlie was having difficulty.
The parents also said that another student had threatened a mass shooting and Charlie wrote a journal entry saying he was worried, which they found months after his death.
“Every day I wake up and he dies again. There isn’t a day that we don’t think about him, that I don’t think about him. “If I could do one thing in my life, it would be not to send him there,” said Scott (pictured left).
Court documents also claim that the high school student had drawn what they characterized as a violent image directed at black people and showed it to a black classmate.
No copy or description of the image has been attached to the submissions.
‘Landon failed Charlie many times during the second year. The second year was hell.
“Our biggest mistake was sending Charlie to Landon,” Dawn Schnell said. NBC.
“Every day I wake up and he dies again. There isn’t a day that we don’t think about him, that I don’t think about him.
“If I could do anything in my life, it would be not to send him there,” Scott added.
Court documents also claim that the high school student had drawn what they characterized as a violent image directed at black people and showed it to a black classmate.
The Landon School has denied all such allegations and issued its own statement.
But the Landon School denied all of those allegations and issued its own statement.
‘At Landon, we have no greater duty than supporting the well-being of our children, a role we take very seriously. We continue to feel nothing but compassion for the pain this family is experiencing over the devastating loss of their son.
“And while we strongly disagree with the claims and characterizations made in their lawsuit, we will continue to navigate this situation with respect, compassion and sensitivity,” a school spokesperson said.
Landon also alleged in the lawsuit that while he was with a group of students at the school, Charlie yelled the term homophobic.
Later, he and another student also exchanged words, which led to a fight.
The Landon School is a private school in Bethesda for children in grades three through twelve.