Black clergy and community leaders are calling on the Rialto Unified School District (RUSD) and Colton Police Department to charge a male student who knocked a female student unconscious at Jehue Middle School earlier this week.
A video shared online on March 10 shows the boy holding the girl’s head down. She tries to hit him with a laptop, but he slams her head onto the table, knocking her out.
Clergy leaders held a press conference in front of the school on Thursday. Pastor Samuel Casey with the Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE) considers the incident as a “traumatic” event involving violence towards Black girls and students.
Casey says schools in Rialto should be “spaces of dignity and belonging for all students.”
“Violence, discrimination and hate speech has no place in our society, in our hearts, and most importantly, in our schools here in this community,” said Casey.
The Colton Police Department said they are investigating the incident and took down statements from a teacher and witnesses. Both students were cited and released to their parents.
The case is also under review by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Juvenile Division
Syeda Jafri, a spokesperson with RUSD, says they're working with law enforcement and providing extra counselors to ensure student safety.
She told students standing by that, “Hate has no place in our world. Hate has no place in our country…and hate has no place in the Rialto Unified School District.”