7-year-old allegedly attacked at school
SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Another fight at a local school.
This time, the victim is only in the first grade and the alleged attacker in the third grade.
According to the South Bend Police report, a third grade female student assaulted a 7 year old female student.
The victim’s mother tells ABC 57 the fight broke out on the playground during recess Thursday afternoon at Marquette Montessori Academy in South Bend.
She mentions there were about six teachers around. Even so, she still didn’t know what happened to her daughter until she came home crying in pain after school.
“She was pulling my hair, she was punching me, she pushed me to the ground," said the 7-year-old victim Nikkera Newsom.
Nikkera should’ve been in class today. Instead, she was at her grandmothers home.
“Because they’re afraid she might beat me up again," said Nikkera.
“I'm scared to send her back to school because they failed her. They didn’t watch her close enough. Another little girl that’s actually in the third grade beat her up really bad in the playground," Patricia Newsom, the victim's mother.
According to Newsom, it was when Nikkera came home from school complaining of chest pain, visible bruises on her back and head that she found out what happened.
“She’s in the first grade! This is a third grader that turned around and viciously attacked her, and they don’t want to tell us nothing,” said the victim's grandmother, Evette Wright.
A spokesperson for the South Bend Community School Corporation tells ABC 57 they attempted to call and notify the parents after the incident but did not get an answer.
In a statement, the district said “the school administration has enforced appropriate disciplinary action," but could not elaborate because of confidentiality rules adding “safety is our top priority; we do not tolerate violent behavior among our students.”
Newsom says the recent viral videos of fifth grade girls fighting at a Mishawaka School, the two 14-year-old boys facing juvenile charges for a bathroom beating at a middle school in Granger, and what happened to her first grader, is all part of the same terrifying trend.
“Seeing all the kids that has happened to them nowadays and that hurts, it really hurts as a parent to know that you’ve got to worry about sending your kids to school because of what could happen at school," Newsom.
According to the South Bend Schools code of conduct, the 3rd grader involved could be looking at detention or suspension depending on how many incidents have occurred in the past.
The case is now being investigated by the school’s resource officer.