AUSTIN -- Parents of a 12-year-old boy at Bedichek Middle School in South Austin are upset with school administrators after their son was involved in a "slap boxing" fight.
The 6th grader said the incident happened during lunch Monday. He said during the class period before lunch, a group of boys asked him to take part in slap boxing.Chris and Christina said their son was bullied into taking part in the fight that went too far. KVUE is not naming the boy or using the parents' last name because he doesn't want to be ridiculed and fear retaliation.
When the 12-year-old said 'No,' he claimed the group bullied him, called him a chicken and said they would beat him up if he didn't. That's when he agreed.
One of the students recorded the fight in a boys' restroom. The Instagram video showed Chris and Christina's son slap boxing with another student.
A few seconds in, the other boy threw their son to the ground and started punching him. Video shows Chris and Christina's son covering his head with his arms. The fight stopped when a student watching interrupted.
"I probably would have been beaten up more," said the 12-year-old, who doesn't want to go back to school. He didn't go on Tuesday, afraid of more bullying.
Christina said when school administrators told her about the incident Monday, they seemed unconcerned and called the event horseplay. She said they placed the blame on their son, at one point, calling him a punk.
"I was really upset for them to classify this as horseplay, especially when kids are video recording it and it's going viral, and then on top of that, what are the kids going to do to my son the next day? Are they going to beat him up for us going to the school?" asked Christina.
Chris, the boy's father, is concerned about what could happen next time.
"When you call something horseplay that goes that far. It's just like, if the principal believes that's horseplay and he's allowing that, that's just not something, I feel my son's not safe at that school," said Chris.
Chris showed KVUE another video posted to Instagram by the student that beat his son involved in a different fight.
The 12-year-old who got a scholarship his fifth-grade year for having high grades wants to focus on his schoolwork and not fighting. Chris and Christina are looking at new schools for their son.
Bedichek Middle School Principal Dan Diehl sent home the following letter Wednesday:
Dear Bedichek Middle School Community,
The safety of all Bedichek Middle School students is our top priority. With this in mind, I am writing to let you know about an incident that occurred earlier this week.
On Monday, a student presented a video to a school administrator that depicted students participating in a type of altercation called "slap-boxing" in the boys restroom. At least one student recorded the incident and posted the video to social media.
We immediately contacted Austin ISD police, who launched an investigation and determined that students had planned the altercation, sneaking out of the cafeteria during lunch to slap-box.
No students were seriously injured. Bedichek Middle School does not condone this behavior and takes the safety of each student very seriously.
To prevent future incidents, new restroom passes were created for student use at lunch, and school staff members who already supervise in the cafeteria will periodically check the restroom.
As always, we appreciate your support of our students and staff at Bedichek Middle School. Please do not hesitate to contact me at 512-414-5180 if you have any concerns.
Sincerely,
Dan Diehl
Principal
Bedichek Middle School
