Disturbing footage has emerged showing an 11-year-old girl being viciously assaulted by a classmate at a middle school in Florida, leading to felony assault charges against the aggressor.
The hard-to-watch video depicts the victim being pulled to the ground and repeatedly hit in the face by another girl in the cafeteria at Nautilus Middle School in Miami Beach, with the incident occurring late last month.
Other students watched and recorded the violent event, which resulted in the young girl suffering from a concussion and feeling too scared to return to school.
“I was just thankful she’s alive,” the mother of the victim said through tears. “She was hit more than 40 times before anyone stepped in.”
She expressed a deep instinct to protect her daughter: “I just wish I could put her back in my tummy and keep her there forever.”
An attorney representing the injured girl accused the school of neglecting its duty to ensure her safety, claiming they were warned in advance about a potential attack.
Officials from Miami-Dade County Public Schools stated that staff tried to intervene with both students before the incident to de-escalate tensions. They added that school police were called once they were notified of the fight.
“The situation was handled according to the student conduct code and reported to law enforcement,” the school said.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office initially referred the case for a misdemeanor charge through a juvenile diversion program. However, following the victim’s mother’s request for prosecution and a review of her injuries, a second-degree felony aggravated battery charge was filed against the attacker, who remains unidentified due to her age.
“Every day has been a struggle,” the victim’s mother remarked. “But I put on a brave face because I still have to support her.”
“We really need to address the issues of violence and bullying in schools; it absolutely has to change.”
An arraignment hearing is scheduled in juvenile court for Thursday.
