– Ghalib Husain
Chicago correspondent
Chicago, IL, Jan. 30: A shocking incident of student-on-student assault, believed to be fueled by bullying and bigotry, was recorded on multiple cellphone cameras inside Glenside Middle School in charge land area Glendale Heights, Illinois, US on last Thursday.
The incident, which was filmed on various camera angles and shared on social media, depicts a boy grabbing a female student, who wears a hijab, by her head and violently holding her in a headlock before shoving her to the ground. The incident, which appears to constitute assault and battery, happened in full view of a crowd of students, several of whom had their phone cameras out to record the incident. The shots cut out as the girl sat on the floor of the hallway in shock and fear.
Instead of intervening, a crowd of students watched as a male student attacked a female classmate, pushing her violently into a locker and causing her to fall to the floor. The videos were shared on social media with some students using laughing emojis.
Community members report that the female student is from Saudi Arabia, speaks no English and wears a hijab and has only been in the United States for two months and that the boy in question was involved in another bullying incident last year. That incident was not reported but was investigated by the school.
Advocacy group CAIR Chicago has labeled the attack as both bullying and bigotry.
Glendale Heights Superintendent Joseph Williams assured parents in a statement, “The police have been involved from the moment of the attack and are currently investigating this matter. We are working with our legal council to ensure that the students responsible for this misconduct are held fully accountable for their actions.”
