Lawyers for a Black teenager stabbed outside of a Los Angeles high school claim administrators could’ve prevented the attack had they taken action against past, racist incidents, CBS News reports.
A 14-year-old Black teenager was among two students wounded in a stabbing outside of Verdugo Hills High School on Dec. 9. According to one of his attorneys, Brad Gage, the teen was chased down by a group of boys, one of whom was wielding a butcher knife, before the stabbing.
Gage described the attack as racially motivated, noting that the other boys are Latino and his client “became terrorized almost immediately when he started high school here.”
Following the stabbing, the 14-year-old student was detained and put in handcuffs on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. The boy’s lawyers said he’s innocent and acted in self-defense.
“He should never have had to go through this,” Gage said.
Prior to the December stabbing, attorneys said the teen was attacked in the boys’ bathroom in August. The teen was allegedly physically assaulted and called racial slurs. The school could’ve prevented the December incident had administrators taken disciplinary action following the alleged August assault, according to Gage.
“They are required to take immediate action under the education code, when a student is being threatened,” Gage said. “They did not do that.”
According to the lawyer, the student’s mother expressed her concerns about her son’s safety during a meeting with school officials in September. However, the school allegedly suggested the boy transfer instead of disciplining the other students involved. Due to her concerns, the mother said she planned to do so but not before he finished the current semester.
“So I said, ‘No, my son is going to stay here. He’s doing well, he’s not going anywhere. He’s going to finish,'” she said. “That’s what I’m most upset about — they just sat there and did nothing.”
Earlier this month, the Black teen’s lawyers filed a government claim against the school, seeking roughly $10 million in damages.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.
