Middle school student with disabilities attacked by other teens, family says
A disturbing case has left a family outraged and frustrated after their 12-year-old daughter with disabilities was attacked inside her school.
Eyewitness News obtained the video showing the moment when two teenagers pulled the girl out of her wheelchair and tossed her to the ground. The case happened inside an elevator at Conway Middle in Orange County.
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In the footage, the teens continue to punch and drag the 12-year-old, who’s not able to standup because of her condition.
Another video obtained by Eyewitness News shows yet another aggression - this time, inside the school bathroom, according to the girl’s mother.
The images depict the girl on the ground, trying to make her way back to her wheelchair, while other teens pull her hair, drag her around, and punch her – all captured on camera and posted to social media.
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“I was livid. I was angry. I was enraged,” said Myisha Hall, the girl’s mother. “It’s sad because we, as people, anyone, doesn’t know what she goes through on a daily. I’m speaking from a parent who see my daughter on her knees praying to God, begging him to make her normal.”
One of the aggressions caught on video happened just last Friday. Since then, Hall says her daughter – who was born with a spinal condition - has not gone back to the school.
Eyewitness News obtained the voice message sent out by the principal, acknowledging the assault.
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“The school administration is aware of a few students who were involved in several extremely disturbing altercations that took place on campus,” said Joshua Bing, Conway Middle’s Principal, in the message. “I want to let you know that we immediately opened an investigation into the incident.”
The principal went on to say the school will take disciplinary action, but according to the girl’s family, nothing has been done so far.
“I feel like they’ve failed both of us. They failed us,” said Hall. “This is an eye-opener, not just for me but for everybody who has kids who go to school and drop their kids off every day.”
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The Orange County Sheriff’s Office sent WFTV the following statement:
“This incident is still under review, but here is what we can tell you at this time:
Deputies spoke to all the students involved, who said they were just playing around.
Through the investigation, other videos were obtained, and the ones that have been reviewed appear to support those statements.
No one reported being a victim of any crime.
The incident was thoroughly documented, and at this time, there are no charges pending.”
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C.Dwight Bain is a Mental Health Counselor. WFTV asked him about why someone would do something like this and then post the video to social media.
“When we look at something so awful and think ‘what motivates these kids?’,” said C.Dwight Bain.
“Remember a 12-year-old brain is a 12-year-old brain,” said Bain. “They don’t really understand consequences so that drive – that dopamine hit of ‘I want to be famous, all those Likes, all the people around the country, millions of millions of people say that I’m great,’ instead of ‘there’s consequences.’”
Bain said since the pandemic, this kind of behavior has exploded.
“The data [shows] it’s dramatically gotten worse and it’s getting worse and it’s getting worse to the point of people saying this is unbelievable,” said Bain.
He said parents need to be proactive. Limit their kid’s time on social media and have serious and difficult conversations with them about bullying to make sure they themselves aren’t being bullied or aren’t the ones possibly hurting others.
“When I was growing up, they would say silence is golden. I want to confront that. No, it’s not,” said Bain. “Silence is dangerous and in situations like this it can be deadly.”
Bain offered resources to help you talk to your child:
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