A frightening fight video purporting to show a Gaston County student hitting a classmate in a classroom in the Ashbrook High School went viral online on Wednesday
A student at Ashbrook High School is seen striking a classmate from behind in a video that was posted on social media on Wednesday, March 26 and has since received thousands of views with the incident taking place on Tuesday as confirmed by the school.
Student brutally beaten by classmate in Ashbrook High School, Gaston County, North Carolina, fight video goes viral
In the viral video, after being struck, the pupil at Ashbrook High School seems to collapse to the ground and is heard sobbing. After reportedly punching their classmate, the kid is seen leaving their desk and hitting the classmate in the head at least twice more. In an apparent attempt to defend himself, the struck pupil curls up on the ground and while his fellow classmates can be heard laughing in the backdrop as he’s trashed, no one intervened to save the student.
As of this writing, officials have not verified the claims made by those sharing the video that the struck student has special needs.
On Wednesday, authorities confirmed to WBTV that the event took place on Tuesday, March 25. According to a Gaston County Schools spokesman who talked to WBTV, law enforcement has become involved and the school is “aware of the video that surfaced on social media.”
This kind of behaviour is unacceptable at school, and the school takes this issue seriously according to it. Following established disciplinary procedures, the school talked with the parents of the pupils, conducted an investigation into the incident, and enlisted the help of police enforcement and the school resource officer.
We are unable to provide or verify information on the students involved or the disciplinary action that was taken because both parties are minors and the police have little information to share about the case.
The Gaston County Police Department is investigating the incident but since it involved juveniles, officials say they will not share any more details at this time.
Gaston County Schools offered the following statement:
“The school takes this incident seriously; this type of behavior cannot be tolerated at school. The school investigated the incident, met with the students’ parents, followed its discipline guidelines, and involved the school resource officer/law enforcement.”
Reactions to the incident
“It’s a terrible thing for a kid like that, especially at this school. I would have never thought that would happen; my daughter goes here,” said Larry Pigett, a parent.
Suzanne Allgire, who also has a grown son with special needs, has found it particularly poignant that the victim is described online as a youngster with special needs.
“I just think there needs to be more awareness of special needs students and their needs,” said Allgire.