WALDORF, Md (7News) — 7News is hearing directly from concerned Charles County parents of a C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School second grader who said their son was allegedly hung in the school bathroom by a fourth grader on Friday.
The boy is alive and recovering from severe bruising on his neck and face, his parents said.
“Me and the dad was actually both at work,” the boy’s mother, choosing to remain anonymous, told 7News’ Lianna Golden. “They [the school officials] said that he was choking, so we’re thinking that he was at lunch and he’s choking off of food.”
As soon as they spoke with the school’s principal, who rode in the ambulance with the child, they discovered the situation was much more severe.
According to the parents, the principal told them she had found their son on a hook in the school’s bathroom.
“She said before she got him down, he was foaming out the mouth, unconscious, and it was from horse playing. She told me they were in the bathroom playing, and my son jumped up, and his jacket got caught on the hook in the stall. That doesn’t make sense to me. A hook is 5 feet tall. My son is only three feet, eight [inches], and she even told me, I was like, ‘Horse playing?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I don’t believe it either.’ So my thing is, if you don’t believe it — why would you put that narrative out there?”
The school’s principal, Carrie Burke, released a statement Friday afternoon saying that the two students were “horseplaying.”
In her full letter to parents, guardians and staff, she shared the following:
“I want to update you on a situation that occurred today at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School. This afternoon, two of our students were reportedly horseplaying in a school bathroom when one student’s jacket got caught on a stall door hook. The student was not able to free themselves and the other student involved was also not able to help them. This student left the bathroom to seek help from staff and reported the incident to administrators. Administrators responded and were able to assist, but staff called 911 for additional precautionary medical support. Due to privacy reasons, I am not able to share any additional details with you. I understand that the initial 911 report resulted in a first responder call that shared a possible suicide attempt occurred at our school. This was then posted on social media by a community member, causing a bit of community concern. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) quickly shared an update with you as well as the Barnhart staff to dispel any inaccurate information beginning to circulate. I apologize for the delay in that update, but our administrative team was addressing the needs of our students. The incident was also reported to our school resource officer (SRO). Any time we have an emergency situation at our school, the administrative team will quickly address, ensure all students and staff are safe and then communicate with parents after we have accurate information to share. I appreciate the quick thinking of the student who reported their classmate needed help, our staff for calmly managing a schedule disruption, and our students who followed our directions this afternoon so emergency medical services (EMS) could enter the school and provide care for the student.”
On Sunday, Maria V. Navarro, the superintendent of schools, released the following statement:
“Over the weekend, there has been a lot of information circulating regarding an incident that took place Friday at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School. As with any incident in any of our schools, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) cannot legally release personally identifiable information about students. This includes specific details about incidents. However, we are thankful to report that the student who was taken to the hospital is now home. I have seen comments online stating that the school and CCPS are covering up what happened. This is not true. The principal nor the school system are hiding anything. Rather, we are sharing what information we can while we conduct a full investigation. The investigation is ongoing; speculation about what did or did not happen as well as the circulation of misinformation impedes the investigation process. Some comments online have alluded to threats toward staff. While the information circulating is alarming and involves heavy emotions, it does not warrant threats against staff or toward others involved. We continue to work with Barnhart school administrators to investigate. Our investigation includes support from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. On Friday afternoon before dismissal, the school resource officer for Barnhart (SRO) started the police investigation and filed a preliminary report. The letter shared by Mrs. Burke Friday afternoon included details based on information obtained through our initial investigation. It is important to note that any student who is found to violate the CCPS Code of Student Conduct faces discipline consequences and it is imperative that we have all the information so that we can adequately address consequences. Police are working with us to confirm details of the investigation. Administrators are supporting both families and students involved in this incident, and the school system is supporting its staff. Our support includes providing mental health resources. The safety of all students is a priority, and we take reports of alleged bullying or assault very seriously. CCPS will not release any additional information about this incident until the investigation concludes. Thank you for your support of Charles County Public Schools.”
“I feel like the only reason that they’re saying that is because my voice is being heard. I want everyone in the world to know that this was no horse playing. I want my child’s voice to be heard. I want to be my child’s biggest advocate,” the child’s mother told 7News.
Her post went viral on Instagram, with more than 500,000 likes and 26,000 comments.
She said her child has no prior history of being bullied at this school. She doesn’t plan to stop advocating for him until she gets answers.
7News’ Lianna Golden: Why would anyone do this to him?
Mother: That’s what I want to know. I want to know the other child’s side of the story. I want to know what made you wanna do this to my child. I want the parents also — since he’s a minor, I want someone to be held accountable for what happened to our child. I don’t want because he’s a minor; I don’t want that to be an excuse. Because my child almost lost his life, and that’s not good enough.
A group of parents was expected to protest Monday at 7:30 a.m. demanding answers outside the Charles County Public Schools Administrative building in La Plata. However, the group said it was canceled out of respect for the family. 7News learned only a handful of people showed up.
Among the few who attended the canceled protest was a woman who told 7News she is the paternal grandmother of the boy who was injured in the school bathroom incident.
The woman asked not to be identified.
She was emotional as she spoke about what happened.
“Reliving it. It’s hard,” she said, “Like seeing my grandson, it’s hard. He’s so little and just knowing what happened, trying to picture or imagine him hanging. Like who wants to see? Who wants to walk in on an adult hanging, let alone a child?”
The woman also wanted to make clear that, contrary to many claims being made on social media, whatever happened had nothing to do with race.
“This is not a hate crime. This is a parent in a school and a student crime. This is not a hate crime, so we don’t want people to think this is a hate crime because its not. It’s not a hate crime, but its something that shouldn’t have happened,” she added.
The woman said the family’s concern is the lack of supervision which allowed the children to be alone in the bathroom long enough for the incident to have happened. She also said her grandson is recovering, but she says he has been crying.
“The only saving grace is that he is here. Bruising can go away eventually; mentally, we definitely gonna deal with that and get him the help and all of us the help that’s gonna be required to get past this,” the woman said.
The parents said they plan to take their son out of the school.
The Charles County Public Schools said that any student who violates conduct will face consequences. The investigation continues.
