A serious bullying case in central Maryland is having severe ramifications for a group of high school students in Howard County.
Authorities and the victim’s mother aren’t messing around. The incident was so harsh that the perpetrators, all football players, are seeing firsthand what happens when you allegedly assault a teammate.
It happened in a locker room at Howard High School in Ellicott City last Friday on Sept. 25, and it was all caught on cellphone video.
Seven junior varsity football players between the ages of 14 and 16 years old are all facing second-degree assault charges, according to WMAR TV. Authorities say they could add more charges, and arrest additional suspects.
School officials have also suspended the JV football team as the investigation continues.
The victim’s mother, April Bridges, called the attack “heartbreaking” and told the TV station that the alleged assault happened before practice when the players were unsupervised.
WMAR reviewed videos of the incident and what they saw was stunning. Members of the team picked up the victim, turned him upside down and tried to stuff him into a toilet.
But that’s not all.
“It’s heartbreaking; it’s really a true nightmare to endure this,” Bridges told WMAR. “They tried to stuff him in a locker. Then they tried to dump him in the toilet. Everybody’s in the locker room staring around with their cameras, laughing and chanting.”
She says the perpetrators hurt her son so badly that he ended up in the hospital, and one of them also stole his wallet.
That’s not even half of it, though. After her son came home Friday, she went to the high school and was stunned to see the football team practicing as if nothing had happened.
She also learned this wasn’t an isolated attack on her son.
Bridges says another student stole her son’s new bike and took it apart with a wrench he had hidden in the locker room ceiling.
She found out about other incidents, too. Students had pulled her son’s pants down and sprayed insect repellent in his football helmet, WMAR reported.
Also incredibly galling, she says the coaching staff brushed off her concerns even though students and another parent reported the incidents.
Bridges reported the attack to police, who are now investigating along with the school. The angry mom believes police should have charged the players with more serious crimes.
“He’s been beaten, battered, kidnapped, assaulted, sexually assaulted, false imprisonment, robbed,” Bridges told WMAR. “I would like charges pressed to the full extent of what occurred to my child.”
The upset mom says the assault has sadly taken a toll on her son.
“My once energetic, happy-going son is depressed. We haven’t been able to sleep through all of this,” she explained.
