A Miami Beach mother is determined to get some answers after her daughter was assaulted in a brawl at her middle school cafeteria.
Cellphone video from inside Nautilus Middle School captured the moment the brutal attack started at one of the cafeteria tables on Sept. 24.
It shows a student appearing to lunge at another girl, hooking an arm around her head before repeatedly striking the 11-year-old girl on the head.
The mother of the victim has since retained a lawyer and is demanding answers on how this was allowed to happen.
“I drove to the school, I got there as soon as possible and that’s basically when our nightmare started, with my daughter being violently assaulted and struck over 40 times on her head,” said the victim’s mother.
She believes the attack stems from her daughter making the school’s cheerleading team while the other girl seemingly did not earn a spot.
“My daughter had done cheer tryouts a few days before. She got into the cheer, you know, it was an achievement, she was happy, and the child, the aggressor child was rejected,” she said.
Gina Raijman, the attorney representing the victim, said the school was already aware of ongoing issues between the students.
She added that their negligence in addressing the issue led to a brutal attack that could have been prevented.
“The school was placed on notice of an escalating incident between students and, despite having this knowledge, they failed to act appropriately to prevent this foreseeable attack. This was a fundamental failure of the school’s duties to protect students on campus,” said Raijman.
A statement from Miami-Dade County Public Schools says district officials had been actively working to address the issue between those specific students before the incident happened.
“Prior to the incident, school staff had met with the students involved in an effort to de-escalate the conflict. When the altercation occurred, school administration and Miami-Dade Schools Police responded immediately. The matter was addressed in accordance with the code of student conduct and referred to law enforcement.”
The victim has not returned to school since the incident.
The alleged attacker is expected to appear in juvenile court on Thursday.
