Source: Mikhail Yakovlev / Getty
Any story about a child being hurt is always going to spark strong emotions, but the idea that a child would be purposely harmed in a way that evokes historical bigotry is hurtful tenfold.
According to WUSA 9, a Black 7-year-old second grader at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School in Waldorf, Md., was hospitalized after he was hanged in a bathroom stall by a fourth-grade student. The parents didn’t want the child to be publicly identified. However, the boy’s mother posted an emotional message on her Instagram page that has been “liked” over 650,000 times and shared over 370,000 times:
“My child who is a second grader was hung in the boys’ bathroom by a fourth grader,” she wrote. “I received the most traumatizing phone call from the school stating that my child was being rushed to children’s hospital in NW. The principal went into the bathroom & found my baby foaming out the mouth & unconscious.”
WUSA 9 spoke to the parents, and they described their son’s injuries as “marks under his eyes, like blood vessels; he still has bruises on his neck from being choked.” The hospital listed the child’s injury as a neck contusion formed from blunt trauma.
The school acknowledged the incident and released a statement to the parents and staff:
“Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff:
I want to update you on a situation that occurred today at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School. This afternoon, two of our students were reportedly horseplaying in a school bathroom when one student’s jacket got caught on a stall door hook. The student was not able to free themselves and the other student involved was also not able to help them. This student left the bathroom to seek help from staff and reported the incident to administrators. Administrators responded and were able to assist, but staff called 911 for additional precautionary medical support.
The idea that this boy’s jacket was “caught on a stall door hook” and it hanged him to the point where he had to be hospitalized sounds ridiculous to our ears, and the family isn’t buying it either.
“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 not telling how many other kids this has happened to.”
How the hell would a fourth grader know anything about “back in the day” unless he was taught by his parents??
We need answers. We’re not letting this story fall by the wayside.
