COCONUT CREEK, FLA. (WSVN) - The fathers of two students who, police said, were targeted by fellow classmates at a middle school in Coconut Creek based on their race are opening up about their concerns in the wake of the attack.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, Steve Defrancesco said his son Liam was one of the four victims in Wednesday morning’s incident near Lyons Creek Middle School.
The concerned parent described what his son told him.
“They tackled him to the ground. One kid was on top of him,” he said. “Someone else had a phone charger cord, and that’s what they were hitting him with.”
DeFrancesco said the assailants singled out his son because of the color of his skin.
“When they say him, they said, ‘Oh, there’s another white boy. Let’s get him,’ and they said, ‘Today is opposite day, so we’re coming to get you,'” he said.
Police said the four victims were attacked by five fellow students outside the North Recreation Complex, just before school.
Investigators said the attack was racially provoked.
Frank Foster said his son was jumped, too.
“Some kids started saying, ‘We’re going to get revenge on you for what you did in the past,’ and he got jumped,” he said. “They hit him and ran off to some other kid and kept going.”
The victims told police the alleged attackers yelled things like, “You are white” and “Brown power.” The victims added the assailants used sticks and cable cords to beat them up.
Parents who spoke to 7News said race has never been a problem at the school before.
“It’s not a community where it’s driven by that. We’re all a very open community, diverse,” said parent Diana Quiroga.
But Defrancesco said the threat of violence related to race has now become a pressing concern for his son.
“A kid should not be going to school worried about if they’re going to get attacked, and I teach my son to love everybody. We don’t care who you are,” he said, “so if you’re going to school, and [someone says], ‘There’s another white boy,’ it’s just not right.”
The five students accused in the attack face several charges, including simple battery and evidence of prejudice while committing a felony.
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