BEECH GROVE, Ind. – A Beech Grove mother is outraged after she said her son was violently attacked in class just three days into the new school year.
Debbi Khanthamany said her 15-year-old son was working on an assignment in class Friday when two other students came into the classroom, jumped her son and started beating him.
“There was nothing he could do but curl up,” Khanthamany said as she showed FOX59/CBS4 a video of the incident.
Khanthamany said she was shocked when she first saw the video, which she said has been circulating around Beech Grove High School.
The video appears to show her son, a Beech Grove sophomore, suddenly and aggressively ambushed right inside a classroom.
“You can see the boy come up behind him, punch him in the back of the head and shoved him to where my son lost his footing and landed in the corner,” she described.
Video of the brawl lasts nearly 30 seconds.
“You don’t see a teacher come out to help or nothing,” she said. “He was just left to fend for himself.”
Khanthamany also shared a disciplinary alert she eventually received from her son’s teacher. The email alert acknowledges the incident.
The teacher’s disciplinary referral reads:
“[Your son] was sitting in class when two other students came in after being warned not to enter and started hitting him. The other two students left the room and he followed them angrily yelling. Please speak with your student about making better choices.”
Khanthamany said she was baffled the teacher did not try and stop the fight and issued a disciplinary referral against her son instead. She said the teacher needs to be held accountable.
“The fact she had the nerve to write my son up,” Khanthamany said. “Something should’ve been done. Nobody intervened. In the video, you don’t hear the teacher say ‘stop,’ ‘no,’ ‘don’t,’ ‘get out,’ or nothing.”
She also said the school never directly alerted her about the incident. Instead, Khanthamany said she quickly learned about it from other district parents and friends.
“I should’ve been notified immediately the second someone laid a finger on my son,” she said.
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the district for a statement. A district spokesperson emailed the following statement:
“Regarding the specific incident mentioned, it would be inappropriate to discuss the details of individual student matters publicly. We are committed to maintaining confidentiality for all students and ensuring their privacy is protected.
I can confirm that our administrative team promptly handled the investigation, and communications were rendered according to policy on the day of the event. The safety, security, and well being of our students and staff remains our highest priority.“
The Beech Grove Police Department said it is aware of the incident and is now investigating the situation.
