GRAHAM, Wash. — The Pierce County Prosecutor's Office has charged a teen accused of attacking another student in a bathroom at Graham Kapowsin High School with fourth-degree assault.
The charges were filed Thursday and PCPO said the 15-year-old boy will be arraigned on Feb. 25.
The attack was caught on video by several students and spread widely on social media.
“The sound of my son crying, and the hits, it’s literally almost become like PTSD,” said Nelle Vance, the student's mother.
Nelle Vance is still trying to make sense of the violence that her son Landon suffered on Monday at Graham Kapowsin High School.
She received a call saying Landon was in a fight in one of the school’s bathrooms. Video taken by multiple students and posted on social media shows Landon being beaten repeatedly by another student.
Her fears were compounded by the fact that Landon has special needs and is on the autism spectrum.
In a letter to families, Graham Kapowsin High School Principal Matt Yarkosky said he was "deeply saddened by the video posted on social media," and he was "disturbed and outraged that this happened at our school."
According to Yarkosky, no one involved in the fight reported the incident to teachers, administrators or school resource officers. A teacher noticed something "wasn't right" with Landon and reported it to the school's administration.
When Vance arrived at the school, she was even more shocked to learn her son was suspended.
“They were more concerned with interrogating my son and using his responses as fodder for his suspension than they were for his physical or mental well-being,” Vance said.
Yarkosky said the administration's "first goal is often to get both parties out of the school building to help de-escalate the situation. This sometimes means suspending one or both parties while we work to gather further information."
But as upsetting as the incident was, Vance said Landon isn’t the only one who’s suffered this kind of abuse at Graham Kapowsin High.
“There are many Landons,” Vance said. “I would say at least 40 students have reached out to me and I’d say the same number of parents, and that’s just in my inbox.”
An Instagram page has been set up that showcases the fights that are held in the school's bathrooms. Vance was sent some of the posts that featured her son and is asking how the school, which she notified about the page, could allow this.
“Knowing as an administration that there are these fights in the bathroom and that there is a page, and you’ve admitted that to me, and it’s still there? That in and of itself is a problem,” she claimed.
Landon’s suspension has been rescinded, but his mother said that’s not nearly enough to address what she called a much larger history of neglect at Graham Kapowsin.
“It’s unfortunate that these are the responses I’m getting out of the school to pull him from these things because they can’t do anything about it,” Vance said. “Have him stay away from the bathroom upstairs, that’s just further ostracizing him than he already is.”
In his letter, Yarkosky also announced the school will start using a new curriculum, "Bringing the Bystander," that teaches about the importance of "being active and positive members of a community."
"It concerns me that when a fight occurs on campus, instead of getting help, too often, students get their phones out to record and post it to social media as fast as possible. This behavior glorifies violence and encourages other students seeking attention to do something similar," he wrote.
Students at Graham Kapowsin are planning a walkout in solidarity with Landon this Friday, Feb. 18. Vance said that she would be happy to attend, as long as it’s not too overwhelming for Landon.
The Bethel School District released a statement saying:
“School administration began investigating this situation Monday morning after a teacher noted that a student in their class needed attention. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is involved in the incident investigation. Because the students are minors, there is limited information that we can share, but we want our families and students to know that any incident that threatens students’ health or safety is taken very seriously. If students witness an incident they should immediately report it to a teacher or administrator.”
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department concluded their investigation into the fight and said the student who attacked Landon could face a misdemeanor assault charge. The case was forwarded to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office which will now determine if charges should be filed against the teen.