LONG ISLAND CITY (WABC) —
Five staff members have been removed from a school in Queens where two first-graders and a girl were allegedly assaulted by a group of eighth graders.
The March 10 incident during school hours at IS 111/Jacob Blackwell School in Long Island City was caught on videotape.
The NYPD says three victims — a 6-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl — filed made a harassment complaint, stating that four female suspects pushed and shoved them.
Two of the girls are 13, one is 14 and the other is 15. Authorities say the leader of the pack is a 14-year-old who lives nearby in public housing.
No charges are expected to be filed, but the complaint was forwarded to the Department of Education.
The resulting investigation resulted in the disciplinary action against four teachers and another school employee.
Schools Chancellor Carmin Farina issued the following statement:
“Nothing is more important than our students’ safety, and we have taken swift action and removed the adults who were responsible for these children. We are on the ground supporting the school community and have added school safety staff. We pledge to these families and children that we will hold accountable anyone who put children in harm’s way.”
One man who didn’t want to be identified says his daughter was at the scene and claims the video is not what it’s made out to be, insisting that the children were playing with each other. Roughhousing, perhaps, he said, but not fighting.
But critics say there is no question about what the video shows: Eighth graders who were supposed to be tutoring first graders instead tossing them around the classroom like rag dolls.
The mother of one of the victims spoke out at a news conference Thursday, saying her daughter was attacked because she refused to join their school fight club.
Latoya Gore, who has filed a notice of claim ahead of a $5.5 million lawsuit, said the alleged assailants were supposed to be tutoring the students at the time.
Other outraged parents want to know how this could happen on school grounds.
Khamani Jones was one of the victims, and her father is still demanding answers.
“To see your baby being dragged on the floor by somebody twice her age, I mean, I can’t even explain it,” Mulazim Woods said. “It was devastating to see that.”
But he did see it, when the assistant principal showed him the 30-minute surveillance tape of his daughter and another child being slammed against a wall and dragged along the floor by the older students, with no teacher in sight.
“Then I noticed my daughter being pulled, hit on the head with a plastic bottle, papers thrown in her face,” he said. “And then I see her being dragged on the floor.”
DOE spokesman Jason Fink said what was depicted in the video “is completely unacceptable.”
He says the matter has been referred to the special commissioner of investigation.
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