The parents of a 9-year-old girl who was viciously beaten by two students on a school bus in Florida are pressing charges against the school and the attackers.
The disturbing video shows the two boys repeatedly striking the girl as she tries to defend herself with one hand while holding onto her backpack with the other.
Despite the presence of two adults on the bus, including the driver and an aide, no one intervened to stop the attack.
The girl’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous, told Local News 10 that she is pursuing charges against Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead and the attackers.
“I got sent the video of my daughter getting attacked by an older kid,” the mother said. “It’s very crazy because there’s all this yelling going on in the bus and the two adults on the bus—the bus (driver) and the bus aide, only sit in the front.”
The mother added that she has previously reported bullying incidents involving her children to the school district, but the only advice she received was to continue speaking with the principal and file a bully report.
“You’re taking care of our children—you’re still responsible for them,” she said. “That’s what you have a job for. Not only to teach them, but if you see anything going on in your classroom, you don’t necessarily have to physically intervene, but call somebody who can. Because if somebody’s child ends up dead, it’s on the school.”
Another mother, who was also anonymous, told Local 10 News that she was “disappointed” by the violence at the school.
“I’m very upset and disappointed in the response that children now take matters into their own hands with violence,” she said. “This violence has got to stop. It’s starting from somewhere. Parents need to do more and pay more attention to their children that are causing these violent acts.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools confirmed that the attacker has been arrested and will face charges.
The school district said in a statement, “Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is aware that several video clips involving students from Coconut Palm K-8 Academy are circulating on a social media platform, which promotes prohibited unsafe behavior. Miami-Dade Schools Police arrested the offender and they will be charged accordingly.”
“Additionally, those involved will be disciplined according to the Code of Student Conduct. The safety and wellbeing of our students is of the utmost importance. This school district goes to great lengths to promote the values of restraint and respect as well as using social media responsibly. We ask that parents reinforce these principles at home,” the statement went on to say.
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT
