Death of 9-year-old boy ruled suicide

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DETROIT, July 21 (UPI) -- A 9-year-old boy killed in a fall from a window in a Detroit apartment building took his own life, a medical examiner said.

Jerrod Burnett's death was ruled a suicide Friday, The Detroit News reported. He died Wednesday at the Young Manor complex after falling nine stories.

The death was the second involving a boy under 10 to be ruled a suicide in the city this year. A 7-year-old hanged himself from his bunk bed in May.

Friends and neighbors held a vigil Friday night at Young Manor. Tamarra Martin described her cousin as a "very happy boy."

"It's so hard to accept he is not here," Shay Lee, a family friend, told the News. "He was a good kid, very respectful. Helped carry groceries for others."

Police said Jerrod had made threats of suicide in the past. His mother said he was bullied in school, something school officials deny, and that he was upset because she and his father had separated.