A video circulating on social media shows a disturbing incident on a school bus. In the clip, multiple students witness a fight. A young girl is seated, using her arms to shield herself from blows at the hands of two male students.
According to local Miami news station WPLG 10, the victim is a third grader at Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead, Florida. In the graphic clip, no other students break up the brutal fight — no adult steps in either. The child’s mother is now planning to press charges. “I got sent the video of my daughter getting attacked by an older kid,” the mother told the outlet. She has chosen to remain anonymous. “All ages are on that bus and it’s overfilled. It’s very crazy because there’s all this yelling going on in the bus and the two adults on the bus – the bus driver and the bus aide, only sit in the front.” The parent added, “I’m very upset and disappointed in the response that children now take matters into their own hands with violence.”
Officials with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said they responded to the school bus altercation around 4:10 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 1) near 24400 SW 124th Ave. The victim’s mother added that she’s been dealing with ongoing issues regarding her children being bullied, but school staff has never taken her claims seriously. “We’ve had issues before with my son and the kids on the bus, and also in the cafeteria and at dismissal. I already drew the line and I was also on [the] phone with the district — I spoke with someone from the district — and the only thing they could advise me of was to continue to speak with the principal and pull up a bully report,” she told WPLG 10.
After hearing about the now-viral school bus fight, the Miami-Dade Schools Police revealed that the two male students seen assaulting the little girl have been arrested. “The safety and well-being of our students are of the utmost importance. This school district goes to great lengths to promote the values of restraint and respect as well as using social media responsibly. We ask that parents reinforce these principles at home,” their statement read.