Battery charges have been filed against a juvenile at Dixie (Fla.) County High School after a student-athlete was attacked in a violent locker room incident.
According to WCJB, the victim’s father, Caleb Bell, described the day of the incident, saying his son was escorted out of the locker room by coaches, bloodied and injured following football practice. His son needed immediate medical attention, and later Bell pulled the student from the Dixie County school system.
“There has been so much controversy even now, and I’m afraid, and my child’s afraid for his safety and our family’s safety to continue to, I guess, thrive in this town,” Bell said.
Dixie County School superintendent Mike Thomas and the responding police officers said that after reviewing video footage, it appears that the incident began “over a reported stolen item” and that staff intervened quickly.
A video of the violent incident shows one student rushing toward Bell, tackling him to the ground and hitting him.
While school officials said in a statement that the student at fault for harming Bell could face disciplinary action or removal from school, Bell claimed that school leaders did not take the action that he was hoping for.
“They stand before these men and tell them what leaders they are and how strong they are and how they’re a group and they’re family, and that didn’t convey that message to me at all, I was appalled by it,” he said.
Local police did move forward with the battery charges and filed them with the state attorney’s office.
