On Wednesday, December 1, a 13-year-old girl and her family members were attacked by a group of more than a dozen bullies on her way home from school. The girl says that she warned a school official at Memorial Middle School that the attack was likely, but the official didn’t do anything to stop the attack. If the school was negligent, it could be facing a premises liability claim.

Katherine Marsh, a spokesperson for Orange County Public Schools, said she couldn’t comment about the specific case, but school officials are generally expected to ensure that students are safe from known campus threats. That responsibility has sometimes been extended to off-campus activities in cases of negligent security.

The girl’s mother says that her daughter, who has pink highlights and bows in her hair, is often the target of school bullying because of her Mexican heritage and her fashion choices. The group of bullies called her “Barbie” during the attack.

Coordinated Bully Attack Results in Injuries to Children, Mother
On December 1, the eighth-grade girl told her mother that she expected to be attacked. Her mother decided to bring the entire family to walk the girl home from school.
“My mom walks to pick her up most days,” said the woman’s older daughter. “This time, we decided to walk the dog and everything.”

Nevertheless, a group of both boys and girls — at least some of whom were Memorial students — approached the girl, her mother, her 18-year-old sister, her 10-year-old brother, her friend and the family dog as the family walked home along 34th Street.

One of the approaching girls punched the eighth grader, and other members of the group struck the girl’s friend and older sister. When the mother tried to intervene, one of the bullies punched her, as well — using brass knuckles or a chain-wrapped fist, according to the older daughter. The group dispersed when the older girl called the police, but one member came back to threaten the mother.

The mother, the older daughter, the eighth grader and her friend were all injured in the attack. The 13-year-old and her friend had facial swelling, neck pain and headaches, and one of them required on-scene treatment. The family later sought treatment at a hospital.

Was Negligent School Security Partly Responsible for the Attack?

The school district says that it is taking the incident seriously, but denies that negligent security played a role, saying there was little they could have done to prevent an attack off of school grounds.

Marsh, the district’s spokesperson, says that students are given routine anti-bullying instruction, and both students and parents are required to sign a code of conduct forbidding bullying. Memorial has suspended some of the bullies, but is not sharing information with the family.

The 13-year-old thinks the school could and should have done more something to prevent the attack, such as providing security for her walk home.

The girl’s family has hired a lawyer, who has asked the school district to let the family know what discipline will be handed down.
“I believe she was targeted based on her being different,” said the attorney. “We want to make sure she doesn’t continue to be a victim.”

The family has agreed to press charges, and the 13-year-old will not be returning to Memorial. For now, she simply hopes to avoid the violent bullies.

“I’m always looking over my shoulder,” she said.

Sources:
• Orlando Sentinel, “Family injured after fight outside Memorial Middle School,” Anika Myers Palm, December 4, 2010
• Orlando Sentinel, “Teen ‘Barbie’ blames school for failing to stop alleged attack,” Anika Myers Palm, December 8, 2010