The parents of a second grader are outraged and demand answers after a fourth grader allegedly hung their son in a bathroom at an elementary school in Charles County, Maryland, leaving him with severe injuries.
Parents seek answers following conflicting statements from school officials
The story first started to gain traction after the mother’s post about the incident on Instagram.
According to WJLA, the young boy sustained severe neck and facial injuries during Friday’s incident at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School. While his parents are grateful he survived, they question how this could have occurred, especially after school officials initially told them he was “choking.” They thought it could have been an accidental lunch incident.
Parents in Charles County say their 7-yo was found ‘hung’ in a Maryland school bathroom. Thankfully the 2nd grader survived, but this family deserves ANSWERS as to why this happened! Student safety in schools should be a priority! What steps will the district take to ensure this… pic.twitter.com/0ygFmKxjEq
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) November 18, 2024
The school’s principal, Carrie Burke, shared alarming details about the incident with the parents after accompanying the child in the ambulance to a nearby hospital.
“She said before she got him down, he was foaming out the mouth, unconscious, and it was from horse playing,” the boy’s mom, who remains anonymous, told WJLA. She told me they were in the bathroom playing, and my son jumped up, and his jacket got caught on the hook in the stall. That doesn’t make sense to me. A hook is 5 feet tall. My son is only 3 feet, eight [inches], and she even told me I was like, ‘horse playing?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I don’t believe it either.’ So my thing is, if you don’t believe it — why would you put that narrative out there?”
School principal releases a statement to dispel earlier claims of a suicide attempt
On Friday, Burke released a statement addressing the community about an ‘initial 911 report’ of a suicide attempt, clarifying that the report was false and that school officials swiftly responded to the situation.
“This was then posted on social media by a community member, causing a bit of community concern,” Burke said in the statement obtained by WJLA.
“Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) quickly shared an update with you as well as the Barnhart staff to dispel any inaccurate information beginning to circulate. I apologize for the delay in that update, but our administrative team was addressing the needs of our students. The incident was also reported to our school resource officer (SRO).”
The fourth grader allegedly shared plans of a racist act with the boy
The 7-year-old’s mom said the fourth grader allegedly described a racist act he was going to do to him.
“My son did tell me that when they were in the bathroom, he said the little boy told him ‘I’m going to show you how I did people back in the day,’ that’s why I feel like it’s bullying,“ his mother said. “It’s not telling how many other kids this has happened to,“ the mother told WUSA9.
In a second Instagram post about the incident, the mother also clarified the alleged race of the other student.
The parents call for the district to make changes
The parents said their son will not return to the school, and they want the district to continue investigating and make changes to prevent this from happening to other children.
“I want to see a policy in place, at least hallway monitors, I want to know why is a fourth grader in the same bathroom as a second grader? Most schools have them divided,“ the mother said, per WUSA9. “I feel this is very unacceptable.“
“These are all our children, and they are the future, so we just need to protect them. Like we sending our kids to school every day thinking that they are safe,“ the father said.
The post Maryland Parents Demand Answers After 7-Year-Old Son Injured In Alleged ‘Hanging’ Incident At School appeared first on Blavity.
