While many classmates say teenage suicide victim Matthew Montagna was bullied at school, he never shared those concerns at home, his family said Monday.
Home alone on Friday night, the 16-year-old fatally shot himself with a hunting rifle at the family's Meade Street residence in Jenkins Twp., officials said.
Almost immediately, classmates pointed the finger at bullying they said he endured inside Pittston Area High School and organized a memorial vigil to spotlight bullying. Now, the school and police are investigating those claims.
"I don't know if it was the reason. There could be a lot of reasons. People did call him harsh names, like retard," Matt's twin brother, Nick, said Monday, adding people also taunted Matt for his frizzy, long hair before he recently cut it short. "I didn't know what was going through his head. Maybe he couldn't take it. Everything had to build up inside of him."
Investigators said they hadn't received any specific allegations of bullying but encouraged classmates to come forward by calling Jenkins Twp. police at 654-1281.
Matt's father, Christopher Montagna, 58, said his son made it clear he "hated" attending Pittston Area each day he would drop him off at school.
"But he never told me why," Mr. Montagna said. "As far as the bullying concerns, it could have been and he just never told me. He wasn't one to come home and say, 'So-and-so threatened me today.' "
Before the school year, Matt seemed to want to lessen the time he spent at Pittston Area. He enrolled in the welding program at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center, spending half his day there and half at Pittston Area, his family said.
Pittston Area Superintendant Michael Garzella, Ed.D., said the district received no complaints about alleged bullying of Matt leading up to his death. The district conducted an internal investigation Monday, interviewing students to see if they knew about any bullying. Grief counselors were available to students.
Matt's family acknowledges he was a loner who spent most of his time at home in his room. He'd often sleep for hours right after school and stay up late playing video games, surfing the Internet and painting, they said.
Matt's mother, Diane, said he never told her about any bullies, but conceded "there might have been some kid who was really hassling him and he hated life."
She said she was thankful for the support from friends and strangers who are organizing the vigil, set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Albert West Park on Swallow Street in Pittston. "I think they're a good thing, so they don't forget about him, that it's not in vain he's gone," she said.
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com