Officials at a Maryland school district are being slammed with criticism after they claimed an older bully hung a second-grader by the neck in a bathroom as a former of “horseplay.”
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The incident happened on Nov. 15, causing the second-grader’s mother to speak on social media. The children involved reportedly attend C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School in Waldorf, Maryland.
“My child who is a second grader was hung in the boys’ bathroom by a fourth grader,” the mother stated. The post featured the second-grader in a hospital after being hung by the older bully. “I received the most traumatizing phone call from the school stating that my child was being rushed to children’s hospital in NW.”
The mother also stated she felt anger and was seeing red. Thankfully, her son is ok physically following the incident.
“The principal went into the bathroom [and] found my baby foaming out the mouth [and] unconscious,” she continued. “I walked into the trauma room with 8-10 doctors surrounding my son.”
The mother is now pushing for awareness to other parents and children. “Everything about this is unacceptable nothing about this is ok BULLYING is never ok.”
The mother spoke to media outlet WUSA9 about the incident, pointing out the physical and mental damage it has done to her son. “If you look at my son, he has marks under his eyes, like blood vessels, he still has bruises on his neck from being choked,” she said. “He’s traumatized. It’s going to take time. This is not something he’s going to just get over overnight.”
The School District Claims the Bully Had Been ‘Horseplaying’ With the Second-Grader When the Hanging Incident Happened
Following the terrifying incident, officials at the Charles County Public Schools issued a statement, acknowledging what happened.
“I want to update you on a situation that occurred today at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School,” the statement reads. “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.”
The officials noted that administrators responded and were able to assist. The staff also called 911 for additional precautionary medical support.
“I understand that the initial 911 report resulted in a first responder call that shared a possible suicide attempt occurred at our school,” the statement continued. “This was then posted on social media by a community member, causing a bit of community concern. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) quickly shared an update with you as well as the Barnhart staff to dispel any inaccurate information beginning to circulate.”
The second-grader’s mother remains baffled by the incident. “If doesn’t make sense to me,” she explained. “If you’re horse playing, how do you get caught on a hook? Like we need answers, I want answers, and we won’t stop till we get answers.”
The district’s superintendent issued a separate statement. “As with any incident in any of our schools, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) cannot legally release personally identifiable information about students. This includes specific details about incidents.”
The superintendent added, “I have seen the comments online stating that the school and the CCPS are covering up what happened. That is not true. The principal nor the school system are hiding anything.”