A Texas teenager took her own life in front of her family after being regularly harassed online for years.

18-year-old Brandi Vela from Texas City, TX died at the hospital of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night. Her sister Jacquelyn said she heard Brandi crying, entered her room and found Brandi against the wall, pointing a gun at her chest,

I heard someone crying, so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room, and she’s against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she’s just crying and crying, and I’m like, ‘Brandi, please don’t!’ Brandi, no.

Brandi's family attributes her suicide to years of online harassment and bullying focusing on her weight. Jacquelyn said that people were creating fake dating website profiles of Brandi, including her picture and phone number, saying she was giving herself up for free sex. Jacquelyn says that her family notified the Texas City police and school district about the harassment on several occasions, each time saying there was nothing that could be done.

KAUZ reports that the Texas City Police Department is currently investigating the online harassment allegations, and the school district acknowledged a previous investigation, but found that the application used was untraceable.

Before shooting herself, Brandi sent a text message to her family saying, “I love you so much just remember that please and I’m sorry for everything.”

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