Mom knocked unconscious by 13-year-old in possible hate crime: 'Go back to Mexico!'
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested following a New Jersey mom’s claim that he viciously attacked her, then shouted racial slurs at her son, who had allegedly been the target of the suspect’s relentless bullying.
Beronica Ruiz had just picked up her 12-year-old son from the Gifted and Talented Academy in Passaic on June 19, and was walking him home, while also pushing her 1-year-old daughter in a stroller, when the student approached the family, according to NBC New York.
The teen allegedly began to verbally assault them, and then threatened violence. When Ruiz tried stop him, he allegedly told her to “shut up,” then punched the mom in the face, knocking her unconscious. She sustained a facial fractures, bruises and a bloodshot eye. The student also stuck Ruiz’s son in the face, officials said.
The teen was no stranger to the family, though, and the attack was apparently not random. Ruiz claims the student was harassing her and her son because they’re of Mexican descent.
She told NewJersey.com that she had already complained to the school’s vice principal that the suspect and two other students had been taunting her son with chants like, “Go back to Mexico!”
"They said that all Mexicans should be behind the wall," dad Alfonso Ruiz told ABC 7. "And my son's answer was, 'What are you talking about? We are immigrants.' [My son s] American. He was born here."
After the boy reported the harassment to the school, they sequestered him for the rest of the day, according to family attorney Daniel Santiago, but didn’t contact the Ruiz family or take any action against the bully. But when he told his mom what happened, she went to the school and demanded answers.
Ruiz said the vice principal admitted he should have contacted her, but had “become busy with other matters.” In fact, they allegedly told her the bully “had just as much right to an education as her son,” according to Santiago.
“That’s a woefully inadequate response,” Santiago said. “'My bad’ is not a good excuse for not calling [the parents], not telling them.” He added, ““This was a horrific and brutal attack. It takes a certain level of insanity to brutally attack a mother with a stroller and leave her for dead.”
To make matters worse, Santiago told Yahoo Lifestyle that he learned the teen suspect had mutliple Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying (HIB) reports on his record at the time of the attack, and that he believes the school had known about this but failed to penalize the student in order to protect the school’s reputation and that of Passaic Public Schools Superintendent Pablo Munoz.
“It’s a complex issue,” he said, “But to put children at risk to protect the evaluation of Mr. Munoz’s job is absolutely egregious.”
Only after the boy’s father contacted Passaic Mayor Hector Lora was the student suspended. Lora said in a statement, “As both a father and a husband I am outraged over this incident. As mayor, these are things you wish would never occur in your city or anywhere.”
The mayor also said that the matter “is being taken extremely seriously,” and that he’s already met with my chief of police, local officials and school administration as well as board members in pursuit of justice.
“What occurred to this mother is unacceptable,” he said, “and whatever we need to do as a city, as a community, to do better by our families and our children, we will do.”
The mayor also confirmed that in addition to suspension, the student has been arrested. The boy has been charged as a juvenile with one count each of aggravated assault and simple assault, according to a spokesperson for the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
He was released into the custody of his parents and is due to appear in Family Court. “Despite this accusation, the juvenile is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes in a statement.
In the meantime, Santiago plans to file suit on behalf of the Ruiz family. “Lawsuits are the only thing that large institutions listen to,” he said, adding that at the heart of the matter is the right to dignity and respect, “not because of who or what they are, but because they're human beings. And humanity has to be better."
As Beronica’s physical wounds heal, she’s also contending with emotional trauma. “My son, he can't sleep, and I don't sleep," she said. "Because I am very worried."
The boy’s father said he forgives the student who bullied his son and assaulted his wife, but hopes the school will become a more tolerant and safe place for his son to learn.
"Education…is very important," said Alfonso, "But their safety has to be priority."
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