LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - The parents of a middle school student in Lauderhill said they are demanding accountability for those responsible for the bullying and taunting that led to a schoolyard brawl that left their son injured, as well as the school administrators who did nothing to protect him.
Cellphone video captured the violent confrontation that, the eighth grader’s parents said, took place Thursday morning during physical education class at Parkway Middle School.
“We send him to school for an education, not for him to be fearful for his life,” said the injured 14-year-old’s mother, Schaven Lewis.
Speaking with 7News this weekend, the concerned mother described the disturbing footage.
“You see them slam him, you see them kicking him in the head, all this other stuff that’s going on,” she said, “and at no point do you see any administrator pop up, at all.”
Schaven said her son spent 10 hours in the hospital after his elbow was dislocated and his head was banged up.
The student’s parents said the scuffle comes after months of bullying, in person and on social media, going back to the previous school year.
While they admit their son threw the first punch, the parents said the fight broke out after he was pushed around the basketball court amid incessant bullying.
“We recently had a death in the family, and these kids were picking at him about that, ‘Hey, your cousin died,’ laughing at him, making a joke about it,” said the boy’s father, Tavarus Lewis, “and he got upset, and he just couldn’t take it no more. It wasn’t the first day.”
Moreover, Schaven said, it took over an hour for the school to reach out to them about the incident.
“It occurred at 11:45. We didn’t get a call until 1 o’clock,” she said.
Thursday’s fight was preceded by another confrontation sometime in November, the student’s parents said. They said all the children involved, including their son, were sent to an alternative school as a result.
But Schaven and Tavarus said the move hasn’t stopped the bullying.
“Something needs to happen — whether it’s a change of staff, more security, but something, something has to happen — so that these kids, insured that they’re safe while they’re trying to come and get an education,” said Schaven.
7News received a statement from Broward County Public Schools. It read: “As soon as the staff became aware of this altercation, school security was notified and they immediately worked to bring the situation under control. Lauderhill Police and emergency medical personnel provided medical care. The students responsible for this altercation have received disciplinary actions in accordance with the code of student conduct.”
The school did not elaborate on what those consequences were due to privacy.
The injured student’s parents said they are looking to press charges.
Lauderhill Police said they are investigating.
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