Brandy Vela shot herself in front of her horrified parents at their home in Texas City

A high school senior shot herself in front of her horrified parents and grandparents after being tormented by anonymous bullies who used encrypted apps to torture her.

Brandy Vela's family pleaded with her not to take her own life after finding her pinned up against the wall of her bedroom with a gun to her chest in their Texas City home.

The 18-year-old ignored their desperate pleas, pulling the trigger in front of her parents and grandparents while her sister cowered, traumatized, in another room.

It is not known who the gun she used to kill herself belongs to. No arrests have been made.

Jacqueline Vela, her 22-year-old sister, told Click 2 Houston Brandy was tired of being the subject of cruel bullies who taunted her about her weight in untraceable messages.

They also made fake profiles for the student on dating websites, she said, where they left her cell phone number and said she would 'give herself for sex for free'.

On Tuesday, Jacqueline was at home when she heard her sister crying in her bedroom. The tormented teenager also sent her siblings a text message to say goodbye.

It read: 'I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything.'

Brandy's sister Jacueline (center) said she was being tormented by bullies who used encrypted messaging apps to tease her

The 18-year-old sent her siblings this heartbreaking text message before taking her own life

Jacqueline ran towards her sister's bedroom where she found her standing against the wall with the gun pointed at her chest.

She pleaded with her not to shoot before running to get her parents for help.

The 22-year-old remained in their room while they, alongside her grandparents, tried in vain to calm Brandy down.

'I was in my parents' room and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, "Help me, help me, help me,"'Jacqueline recalled through tears.

Neither of the girls' parents spoke of their daughter's death on Wednesday.

The family claim they reported bullies to police several times before Brandy's death but nothing was done.

Victor Vela, Brandy's brother, issued a sinister message to her tormentors. 'I'm glad you got what you wanted. I hope this makes you happy,' he said.

Brandy's parents Raul and Juana (pictured right) pleaded with their daughter (center) to put down the gun

Brandy's brother Victor addressed her bullies as he spoke about her death, telling them: 'I hope this makes you happy'

The school district said coming to class was a 'safe environment' for the student.

'School was a safe environment for Brandy,' Melissa Tortorici,Texas City Independent school District's director of communications, said in a statement.

'She had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers. She did bring it to the school's attention before Thanksgiving break that she was getting harassing messages to her cellphone outside of school.'

Officials could not pin down the bullies at the time and told Brandy to change her phone number instead.

'Our deputy investigated it and the app that was being used to send the messages was untraceable. We encouraged her to change her phone number."