TWO teenage girls who were found dead in an Andalucia park over the weekend took their own lives after suffering bullying at school, heartbroken friends of the pair have said.
The bodies of classmates Rosmed and Sharif, aged 15 and 16 respectively, were discovered in the early hours of Saturday morning in Concordia Park in the centre of Jaen after the alarm was raised by worried family members.
According to pals, at least one of the girls – who both attended IES San Juan Bosco in Jaen – had been bullied at school.
“Rosmed suffered bullying at her previous school [IES El Valle] and it is something she never recovered from and was deeply affected by,” one friend told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
That same friend, who reportedly helped search for the girls after they were reported missing, claimed Sharif had also been bullied by peers.
Police say the two girls, both Spanish citizens with parents of Colombian origin, died by suicide with no visible signs of violence by a third party.
But authorities have not confirmed whether the deaths are linked to cases of alleged bullying, with a judicial investigation into the tragic incident currently under a gag order.
According to friends, the deaths could be linked to a classmate who took his own life a year ago.
According to Jaen Hoy, a young man – who was a classmate to at least one of the girls – shot himself with a shotgun in November last year.
In a statement, the girls’ school said: “Today is a very hard day for the educational community of IES San Juan Bosco.
“We know there is no possible comfort at this time, especially in such a traumatic loss.”
Jaen city council has declared three days of official mourning running until Tuesday, December 2.
A minute silence has been called for Monday at midday across the city.
In 2024, 76 youngsters aged between 15 and 19 years old took their own lives in Spain – a 20% increase compared with the previous year.
According to a recent report by UNICEF, 7.4% of Spaniards aged between 12 and 20 are believed to be at a high risk of suicide.
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