The Christmas season is a time of laughter, joy, family, silliness, and the creation of treasured memories. Sadly this was not the case for Amber Cornwell.

Tragically, this beautiful 16-year-old girl committed suicide on just before Christmas. Why would a vibrant young lady, who was just out on a date the night before, commit suicide? The answer is: BULLYING. Her parents, Kim and Alan, provided some insight when speaking to ABC’s WLOS 13:

Kim tells us Amber’s been targeted since the sixth grade.

“The boys like her and the girls hate her, and that’s not fair and I don’t want another child to die because of name calling,” she explains. “All the time, it was always something. We thought it had calmed down.”

“Young Americans y’all got a step and put a stop to it,” Amber’s dad Alan’s says.

“But this bullying has gotta stop,” Kim says with tears streaming down her face. “Look what it’s doing to families, look at my face, look what it’s doing to me.”