A fight reportedly broke out at a middle school in North Wales, Pennsylvania, where a student allegedly used a Stanley cup to bludgeon another student, causing her to need staples in her head.
The alleged attack occurred Wednesday afternoon inside Pennbrook Middle School’s cafeteria, according to ABC 6. Over 50 parents reportedly gathered at a North Penn School District (NPSD) meeting Thursday night to discuss the incident Upper Gwynedd police alleged was an “unprovoked, sudden, violent attack.”
Police said the incident was captured on a security surveillance camera, and alleged that the student attacked suffered a concussion and needed several staples in her head, the outlet reported.
A seventh-grader was violently bashed over the head with a metal Stanley cup by another student, sending her to the hospital. Outraged parents say the attack could have been prevented if school officials heeded students’ warnings. https://t.co/A62q8qBAZ0
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“I just hear all this screaming and everybody running. All of sudden you just hear these terrible loud bangs of the Stanley bouncing off her head,” Emily, a student at the school and a witness, said during the district meeting, ABC 6 reported. “We had to sit in there and watch them clean up the blood off those tables and ground, and we had to watch them take her out with blood dripping down her face and I will never forget that.”
Several parents also spoke during the district meeting, voicing their concerns over the incident and the school’s handling of it, according to the outlet.
“This was avoidable and the district truly failed to protect the students at Pennbrook,” one parent reportedly said. “What are we supposed to say to our children after this? How do I send him back to school?” (RELATED: Teachers Ran LGBT Education Program Without Approval: REPORT)
NPSD Superintendent Todd Bauer wrote an announcement to family and staff following the incident. He recognized that the incident had “scared” students. He addressed rumors that the alleged attacker had been expelled from another school previously over alleged violence, saying that “these assertions are false.”
“Today’s incident is extremely disappointing and concerning, but it does not represent the values and qualities you and I have grown to know,” Bauer continued.
Students allegedly warned staff the day before the incident occurred, ABC 6 reported.
“This should not have happened period, as an educator, your superintendent and a father, I’m appalled by what happened. We are currently pursuing the details leading up to this incident and why it occurred. We are also collaborating with our local law enforcement in their investigation as we work to ensure that something like this can’t happen again,” Bauer reportedly said Thursday night.
Police say the alleged attacker probably will be charged on multiple counts, including felony aggravated assault, according to ABC 6.