Family says classmates kicked fifth-grader while chanting ‘gay boy'

ATLANTA — The parents of a former northwest Atlanta elementary school fifth-grader filed a police report after, they said, classroom bullying went too far.

The family filed the report with the Atlanta Police Department on May 20, the same day the incident happened. It involved Morris Brandon Elementary School students.

"I fell because they were kicking me really hard, and I got back up and they continued to kick me," the victim said.

The family wants to remain anonymous. The victim said it happened in a fifth-grade classroom while the teacher was out.

An Atlanta police report said, "Classmates stuck a 'kick me' sticker on his back and kicked him several times in the leg and back."

"He was attacked by three boys, and this is clearly assault," the victim's mother said. "As they were kicking him, they were laughing and calling him 'gay boy, gay boy, gay boy.'" 

She said after school that day, she could tell there was something wrong with her son, heard what happened and jumped into action.  Part of the school's disciplinary action against the three other students involved was a demand for apology letters.  The victim has only received two letters and said they seemed "fake."

The three boys were also banned from an end-of-the-year pizza party. The victim's mother thinks the punishment is too lenient, especially because, she said, she already went on-record with the teacher about an assault in March.

"The teacher knew that there was a bully in the class that had assaulted my child before and he left him there alone to go teach another class. What kind of safety is that for our children?" the mother said.

Atlanta Public School Executive Director of Communications, Stephen Alford said, "We rely on the leadership at our schools to manage discipline, and we're very pleased with leadership at Morris Brandon Elementary School."

When asked if he thought the three students who kicked him learned their lesson, the victim responded, "No, because it's like you commit assault and all that's going to happen is you're going to miss a pizza party?  That's just, like, wrong."

APS said that with only two days left in the school year, school leaders did the best they could. 

"That is no excuse, absolutely no excuse.  To me that is sweeping it under the rug," The victim's mother said.  

Now, she's demanding attention to the problem of bullying in school. 

"I'm sure I've got every parent in Atlanta behind me.  This bullying has got to stop.  You don't really know what's going on in a child's mind at that age or how deep it hurts.  You don't know, and that's why it has to stop now," she said.

The students will move to middle school after summer.  The victim directed the following statement to those who kicked him: "If you get older and you continue to do that, you're going to get arrested."

WSBTV