A disturbing video has emerged of a group of bullies attacking a boy with Down syndrome inside a bathroom at a suburban Chicago high school.
The clip, filmed at York Community High School in Elmhurst on Thursday, shows heartless students pushing the boy to the ground as other children cheer him on.
“Take it!” when the victim tries to escape the insults and taunts, the thugs take shelter in the store and scream.
The gruesome footage was later circulated among other students, school 205 officials confirmed Monday. This was reported by the Chicago Tribune.
“After receiving this report, our school team started an investigation,” Principal Shahe Bagdasarian told the newspaper.
“Parents were contacted and students were interviewed. After the investigation by the school is completed, appropriate consequences will be brought,” added Baghdasaryan.
Superintendent Keisha Campbell said in an email Sunday to parents that several people stood up and laughed as the boy was attacked.
“We are deeply disappointed and saddened by the actions of this small group of students. “Bullying, intimidation and harassment reduce the student’s ability to learn and the school’s ability to provide education,” he said, according to the newspaper.
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated and any student who chooses to engage in this behavior will face the appropriate consequences,” the head of school added.
But Chris O’Connell, whose son attends the York High School Transition Center, which serves students with intellectual disabilities, said he only found out about the incident on Facebook.
The young boy was surrounded by a circle of students who encouraged him to bully.
York Community High School Principal Shahe Bagdasarian said the school launched an investigation after receiving the report.
Superintendent Keisha Campbell said in an email Sunday to parents that several people stood up and laughed as the boy was attacked.
“I have a lot of questions. Why didn’t I receive an email? Why is it not being explained to these people, what are the consequences?”. he told the Tribune.
According to the angry mother, the incident has sparked outrage from parents who have shared their experiences of bullying at school.
“People are saying left and right, ‘I tried to report this, my child was bullied, my special needs child went through this, and nothing is being done about it,'” says O’Connell.
“As bad as it is, you wish it didn’t happen or that someone would come in and stop it for the poor kid, there’s proof of that,” he said.
Another parent, Robin Petchul, said her two daughters were “upset and disappointed” when they got home from school on Friday.
“Bullying, intimidation and harassment diminish a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to provide an education,” said Superintendent Campbell.
“Parents were contacted and students were interviewed. After the school’s investigation is completed, appropriate measures will be taken against the persons involved,” added director Baghdasaryan.
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated and any student who chooses to engage in this behavior will face the appropriate consequences,” added the head of school.
“But I’m not that surprised,” he told the Tribune. “They knew that a child with special needs had been assaulted in a bathroom in York and they knew the children involved but were not friends with them.”
Principal Campbell said the police department’s school resource officers have been in contact with the victim’s family and the investigation is ongoing.
“As we continue to work together to support our students, we would like to thank the people who have already reached out through our hotline to provide the district with additional information,” Campbell told the newspaper.
“The immediate and overwhelming response from the York community shows that the actions of a few do not represent the entire school,” he said.
The school’s principal said the police department’s school resource officers contacted the victim’s family.
Chris O’Connell, whose son attends the York High School Transition Center, said he only found out about the incident through Facebook.
“I have so many questions. Why didn’t I get the email? Why isn’t this being explained to people in detail, what are the consequences?” O’Connell told the Tribune.
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition calling for reform and better anti-bullying education has garnered thousands of signatures.
Students also plan to march on Friday, This was reported by WGN-TV.
“A lot of parents are very angry because the school tried to minimize the incident,” junior Emma Gurecki told the station. “It’s a big deal, you have to know.”
Frank Lally is an education policy analyst at Access Living Chicago, a disability rights advocacy group. This was reported by CBS News: “We have yet to see these things happen.”
He added: “You’d think that high school students in 2022 would be a little more empathetic to their peers. But the sad truth is that students with disabilities are far more likely to be bullied than their peers.” become victims of fluency.
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