A teenager took his own life after being outed as bisexual online, his family have said.

Channing Smith fatally shot himself on September 22 in the hours after his classmates posted screenshots of his messages online.

The texts showed the student confiding with a friend about his sexuality, WZTV reported.

Along with a female classmate, the friend then shared the screenshots on Snapchat and Instagram on Sunday night, Channing's brother Joshua Smith said.

“They did it to just completely humiliate and embarrass my brother,” Joshua added.

“Being in a small, rural town in the middle of Tennessee, you can imagine being the laughing stock and having to go to school Monday morning.”

Channing then reportedly called the girl and told her he was going to commit suicide.

The classmate did not share his plans with anyone else.

Just hours later, the 16-year-old took his own life.

Joshua added: "He couldn’t face the humiliation that was waiting on him when he got to school on Monday, so he shot and killed himself."

Now the family are pushing District Attorney Craig Northcott to file charges against the classmates.

The office announced it was investigating events surrounding the teenager's death.

“My office has encouraged, cooperated in and supported the investigation into the events leading to this death,” Northcott told news station WTVF.

“Ethically, I am prohibited from commenting on an open investigation or prosecution.

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