Alleged hanging incident involving second grader at school puts spotlight on bullying
By Christian Olaniran, Kaicey Baylor
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — An education advocacy group is putting a spotlight on bullying and school violence after a 7-year-old student was injured in an alleged hanging at a Charles County elementary school.
On November 15, Carrie Burke, Principal at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School, issued a letter to parents regarding two students reportedly “horseplaying” in a school bathroom when one student’s jacket got caught on a stall door hook.
“Some students are consistently causing physical assaults against their peers and educators,” said Sean Heyl, President of the Education Association of Charles County. “I want to emphasize the validity of the concerns at the elementary level.”
The other student involved was unable to free the student and left the bathroom to seek help from staff – reporting the incident to school administrators. Staff responded and called 911 for additional “precautionary medical support,” the letter said.
According to hospital documentation, the second-grader suffered a neck contusion caused by blunt trauma.
While the letter did not include further details about the condition of the 7-year-old boy, the family spoke out, distraught over the incident they consider to be “bullying,” WUSA-9 in Washington, D.C. reported.
“My son did tell me that when they were in the bathroom, he said the little boy told him, ‘I’m going to show you how I did people back in the day,’ that’s why I feel like it’s bullying,” his mother said. “It’s no telling how many other kids this has happened to.”
The child’s parents said it wasn’t an accident and their child was “hung by by a fourth grader.”
“My child who is a second grader was hung in the boys’ bathroom by a fourth grader,” a social media post by the child’s mother read. “I received the most traumatizing phone call from the school stating that my child was being rushed to children’s hospital in NW … I’m feeling anger and seeing red, but my son is here by the grace of GOD, and I will forever be thankful!”
Charles County Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Navarro said in a letter to the community that the incident does not appear to be “race-related” or that there wasn’t “any intent for anyone to be hurt.”
“However, disciplinary consequences are being imposed due to the serious nature of this incident,” Navarro wrote.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office says the incident was not a hate crime.
Under Maryland law, the fourth grader could not be charged due to their age.
Education Association of Charles County President Sean Heyl mentioned disruptions to the school learning environment during Tuesday’s Charles County Board of Education meeting.
“We need to establish plans, both verbally and in writing, with students who receive referrals, reinforcing the discipline matrix so that everyone understands how we arrived at this point and what will happen next,” Heyl said.
In the wake of the incident, The One In Five Foundation For Kids, a national nonprofit that advocates for school violence prevention, held two protests. One took place on December 2 at C Paul Barnhart Elementary School, and another happened on December 10 at the school district headquarters.
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