A nine-year-old girl is brutally beaten by two boys on a school bus in footage that recently went viral on social media. The school district said one of the boys has been arrested since, and the girl’s mother said she plans to press charges.
In the video, the third-grader cowers as she is punched more than a dozen times in the head and neck by an older boy behind her. Another younger boy then joins in for another round of rapid punches to the girl’s head.
The context of the fight is unclear, but at the beginning of the video, the girl and younger boy appear to be exchanging blows. The video was recorded Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The incident took place on a school bus from Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead, Florida, CBS News reported. The girl’s mother, identified only as Jenni, said her 10-year-old son was also beaten on the same ride.
“Another kid came out of nowhere and hit my son, and he fell to his knees,” she said. “They started to hit him.”
The children’s parents told local news outlet WSVN that both have been repeatedly bullied since starting at the school in January. They said multiple school officials had been notified, but nothing was done. The parents are now home-schooling both children for the time being, WSVN reported.
In a statement, Miami-Dade County Public Schools said “the offender” in the school bus incident had been arrested by school district police and “will be charged accordingly,” CBS reported.
“Additionally, those involved will be disciplined according to the code of student conduct,” the statement added.
Jenni told CBS she intends to pursue legal action against the arrested student, who she said was 14 years old.
The school district is reviewing the incident to see if disciplinary action should be taken against the bus driver, WSVN reported.
