A 15-year-old boy who was caught on cellphone video beating up an elementary student on a Miami school bus will face criminal charges for the crime.
Police records indicate the boy admitted to repeatedly striking the much younger girl in the head because she and his brother got into an earlier altercation.
On Tuesday, Feb. 7, Miami-Dade state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the unnamed teen, who repeatedly struck the 9-year-old girl as she rode on the bus from Coconut Palm K-8 Academy to her home, will be charged with battery in juvenile court for the Wednesday, Feb. 1 incident, according to NBC 6.
Another boy was seen on the video striking the girl after the teen reportedly received a civil citation; it is unclear if he will face criminal charges.
The 9-year-old, who reportedly sustained bruises on her head, back and shoulders, believes maybe it was her fault, according to her mother, who only wants to go by the name Jenni.
“She has self-blame and fear from the situation,” the mother said. “It’s just a lot of trauma to heal, and it’s a process for us here at home.”
Rundle’s office issued a statement, describing the incident as one more than a “simple student altercation.”
“The February 1, 2023, school bus video of a 15-year-old boy pummeling a 9-year-old girl, clearly shows that this beating was far more serious than a simple student altercation. The school’s police officer who investigated the matter had the discretion to issue a civil citation, as the officer did here, or make an arrest for misdemeanor battery,” the statement reads in part.
“We believe that, based on the evidence and the circumstances, the use of a civil citation was incompatible with the level of violence displayed by the 15-year-old against his much younger and smaller victim,” she continued. “As a result, we have filed criminal battery charges with our juvenile courts.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools said…
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