Sixth grader attacked at Jackson Middle by fellow student
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Last week, a sixth grader was attacked in the hallway of Jackson Middle School.
ABC57 spoke to the 11-year-old's mother, whose name we are not sharing to protect the child's identity, who spoke of the difficulties that her daughter has faced at school.
"It's very heartbreaking, it breaks my heart."
The mother found out from her daughter that she was attacked at school.
"The girl followed her from the lunchroom, all the way to the hallway, and attacked her from behind."
ABC57 obtained the video, showing one student approach another from behind, grab her and force her to the ground, then landing several punches to the girl's face and chest.
"She pulled her from the back of her hair, got on top of her, she wore glasses, and she was hitting her with both fists in her face."
The child's mother states that her glasses were broken during the attack and says that she got an update from the school nurse shortly after.
"I was just giving you an update that your daughter's okay, she's been in my office since it happened, and she had red marks on her chest, on her back, on her face. And that's all I got until I seen the video over the weekend."
The mother states though that the attack happened on Wednesday, and she hasn't heard a thing from the school since.
"As a mother, and you're watching my daughter, and you're supposed to protect my daughter. You didn't never call me and say, 'Hey, there's been an incident at school that happened, and we need you to come down here.' And they didn't do nothing, they waited til I got to school and I was there at like 4 o'clock. That was like, what, three hours after it happened?"
As a mother, she is worried about her daughter and the psychological impacts bullying can have.
"She said she's not good enough in this world, people are making fun of her, that she got jumped, and just all kinds of stuff."
It's a story that is all too reminiscent of Rio Allred's, a 12-year-old North Side Middle School student, who faced brutal bullying for things like an autoimmune disorder and took her own life two and a half years ago.
Allred's parents, starting Rio's Rainbow to make sure this doesn't happen to another student.
"Just trying to provide as many services and as much help as we possibly can to what can feel like a really impossible situation sometimes," stated Rio's Rainbow Co-Founder Aaron Ball.
The organization, a shoulder to cry on for families going through something similar.
Rio's Rainbow even hosting a 'Speak Our Truth Rally' on Sept. 21 at the Elkhart Civic Plaza.
The subsequent parent coalition, lobbying for a child state of emergency in Indiana, because of incidents like these.
"The whole goal is that our kids should be able to go to school and go to the playground and go to any social setting and feel safe. And that's just not what's happening right now," finishes Ball.
"It's just really hard on her and me. You're thinking that it's a safe place sending your kids to school when it's really not."
A South Bend Community School spokesperson reached out to ABC57 stating, "The safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities. We take any complaints regarding bullying seriously and are committed to addressing them promptly and effectively."
They continue, " Our goal is to foster a safe, positive, and nurturing educational environment where every student can thrive."
To report any concerns that parents may have, Click Here.
(In the attached video report, ABC57 falsely stated Rio Allred was a Middlebury student. This is incorrect, she was a student at East Side Middle School, and ABC57 apologizes for the error.)