JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WKBW) — One Jamestown parents is outraged over a video circulating on social media that shows what she said is her young son being bullied at school.
A disturbing video shows a Jamestown High School student confront a classmate outside the high school. The student asks his classmate to get on the ground.
"Get on the ground," the student shouted.
In the video, you can hear screams and laughter coming from other kids nearby, as the boy yells for the other student to get on his knees and kiss his boot. After shouting at the boy, the video shows he got slapped in the head.
"He got humiliated and everybody around him just laughed nobody said anything nobody did anything," Raquel Diaz said with tears in her eyes.
Diaz is the mother of the boy at the receiving end of the harassment. She said she found out about this video after a teacher called her. The disturbing video, from a few weeks ago, has now made the rounds on social media.
"It's, it's bad. It's a bad feeling no one should have to feel this way," Diaz said.
Now, she wants justice for her son.
"No kid should have to feel alone like he did. We as parents shouldn't have to be worrying about this issue you know? Children should go to school to be safe," she added.
Diaz said this incident points to a much larger problem with safety in Jamestown Public Schools. It is a problem that is worrying her and is something she feels is not being handle properly.
"Not only for mine because I've got, I've gotten so many messages from so many other parents who are sympathetic but also going through the same thing," she said.
Kevin Whitaker, superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools, saw the video.
"We take these things and especially something like this extremely serious we have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of thing," Whitaker said.
He called the video highly inappropriate and disrespectful to Diaz's son. Since the video was taken, he tells 7 News' Kristen Mirand, the school has taken disciplinary action.
"I wish we had known the situation itself was going to happen so that we could've preventative it and it also makes me make sure that we are doubling down on our preventative efforts," he said.
According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, one in five students is bullied every year, with a slightly higher percentage of bullying happening to boys. In Jamestown Whitaker said an investigation is underway.
Diaz is now taking a stand for not only her son but also other students so something like this doesn't happen again.
"Unfortunately, it happened to my son. It shouldn't have happened to any kid for somebody to start paying attention, but something's gotta give," she said.
Whitaker said soon the school district will be rolling out a see something say something program where anyone, including students, can anon submit tips and concerns that school leaders need to be aware of.
Meantime, Diaz said and other parents will be hosting a rally in light of this incident she ahead of Thursday's school board meeting.
