Eight US Service Members Charged in Apparent Suicide Death of Fellow Soldier Who Told of Bullying
Eight U.S. service members in Afghanistan are facing charges in connection with the death of another soldier who apparently committed suicide after telling his parents of bullying.
Danny Chen, 19, died in a guard tower on Oct. 3 from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, report the Washington Post and Stars and Stripes. Chen had told his parents some soldiers had bullied him, but such treatment was to be expected, according to a New York Times story published in October. A military official had told the grieving family that Chen, a Chinese American, had been subjected to physical abuse and ethnic slurs by superiors.
Information about the charges is sketchy, the Post says, and the soldiers’ alleged role in Chen’s death is not clear. All the men were charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Five are accused of involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery, negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Two are charged with dereliction of duty and a third with assault and maltreatment.
