A mother was in disbelief after she was sent a viral video of her 9-year-old daughter being attacked on the school bus by a group of boys in Homestead, Florida. At least one of the students involved has been arrested.
The mother said her daughter is a third grader at Coconut Palm K-8 Academy, but one of the boys who assaulted her was in the eighth grade.
“I got sent the video of my daughter getting attacked by an older kid,” the mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Local 10 News.
The footage shows two boys standing over the girl and repeatedly hitting her while she holds one arm over her head, trying to protect herself, and her other arm clutches tight onto her backpack. No other students or adults intervened to stop the attack. Instead, they gathered around in a circle standing over the helpless girl.
The two boys that attacked the girl were 15 and 7. The mother also confirmed that there were at least two adults on the bus as well.
The incident took place around 4:10 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. They stated that they checked the two boys for injuries and then released them to their parents.
“All ages are on that bus, and it’s overfilled,” the mother told Local News 10. “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 also explained to reporters that this is not the first time an incident occurred with her children on this bus.
“We’ve had issues before with my son and the kids on the bus, and also in the cafeteria and at dismissal,” the mother told reporters. “I already drew the line, and I was also on phone with the district — I spoke with someone from the district — and the only thing they could advise me of was to continue to speak with the principal and pull up a bully report.”
The mother pressed charges against the two boys involved and the school. She says she has spoken with the principal, assistant principal, and a counselor at the school, but still, nothing has been done. The principal suggested that withdrawing her kids might be the best option because the school is “overwhelmed.”
Her children have only been enrolled at the school for three weeks.
“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.”
The mother mentioned that she didn’t want to criminalize any other children, but she wants a safe and secure environment for kids so this doesn’t happen again.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools says the incident is under review to determine whether the employee near the students will face disciplinary actions.
The school district released the following statement to the media:
“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,” a statement from the school district read. “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 girl has scratches and bruises head, back and shoulders from the assault, according to her parents.
“This kid is just beating my daughter senseless for no reason. She can’t defend herself,” said the children’s father. “She’s a little girl. How is this acceptable?”
