The Mayes County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a video of a bullying incident on an Oklahoma school bus after the clip went viral on Facebook.
Maj. Rod Howell of the department said the footage of a terrified boy pleading with his bus driver to stay on the bus is disturbing. The cellphone video taken by another student shows a sixth-grader being bullied by a ninth-grade boy, reports KTUL.
The boy appears to be crying and begging his bus driver to stay on the bus to avoid an attack. He’s heard making a desperate plea to his driver before he’s yelled at to get off the bus. In the clip, the boy being bullied says:
“You’re gonna kill and try to punch me.”
The child can also be heard asking the driver to let him out at his house instead of the bus stop.
But an adult instructs the student to get off at the stop. The driver is heard saying:
“Hey, get outta here. Go!”
As the victim is sent off the bus, he’s punched and attacked by the older student outside.
Howell told News On 6:
“The video is alarming itself and obviously it’s enough to start an investigation.”
He explained to KTUL:
“Being a parent obviously first and being in law enforcement as well. We have kiddos who ride the bus every day in some form or fashion, and it kinda hits close to home.”
Watch the video below:
The incident occurred in Locust Grove at a stop located at Four Corners Church of God in the Locust Grove Public School District.
As police look into another cellphone video and two cameras on the school bus for more evidence, the district released a statement.
Posted by Locust Grove Public Schools on Thursday, January 24, 2019
In response to the video, one parent wrote in a Facebook post:
This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that I’m talking about when I say that schools are not doing anything to stop bullying in schools. The bus driver should be fired. Period. A message needs to be sent to ALL staff loud and clear that this will NOT be tolerated. Your job is to PROTECT the students, not put them in harms way.
The school district said the student’s and bus driver’s actions have been addressed internally and declined to say whether the bus driver is still employed, reports WHNT.
According to KTUL, the people in the town are outraged by the bullying incident.