White student was caught on video throwing a handful of cotton balls and whipping a Black student with his belt. In the video, which was recorded by another student and shared on social media, the white student can be seen walking up behind the black student, who was sitting down at the time and throwing a handful of cotton balls at him. The 15-year-old white student then repeatedly strikes the black student with his belt.
The 15-year-old student from Louisiana is now charged with hate crime, the local sheriff’s office has announced. In the video, which was shared on social media, the white student can be seen walking up behind the black student, who was sitting down at the time and throwing a handful of cotton balls at him. The 15-year-old then repeatedly strikes the black student with his belt, according to WWL-TV.
The black student eventually stands up and pushed the attacker away, backwards, and through a nearby door, according to reports.
Officials said that this unfortunate incident occurred on March 9, 2022. It happened at the Vandebilt Catholic High School cafeteria in Louisiana. The footage, which was recorded by another student, was shared on social media, and the school started an investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office released the following statement: “The video that appears to be racially motivated was allegedly recorded at a local high school during school hours. TPSO detectives met with the parents of the victim and an investigation is being conducted. The parents of the victim also met with the school’s administration and they are diligently assisting the parents with addressing this non-acceptable episode.”
The white student, who is a high school freshman, was reportedly arrested on March 15, 2022. The student is now charged with simple battery and a hate crime, the sheriff’s office said.
The victim’s parents, Robert and Brandi Sandolph, thanked the community for rallying around them and released the following statement:
“We, the parents of the student that was the victim of yesterday’s incident, appreciate the outpouring of support and prayers from our community. We are pleased that the administrators are working with us during the investigation of this incident. We will continue to pray for our school community as a whole, that we not only get through this together, but that we each learn a valuable lesson from what has taken place.”
Jerome Boykin, the NAACP president, released the following statement:
“This act was clearly something the student thought through to do. It was a planned act and it was racially motivated. It has no room in our society or in our schools.
It’s really unfortunate that in these days and times African Americans still have to endure these racist incidents, especially in our school system. I was glad to hear that the school took swift actions against all who were involved. Unfortunately, racism is alive and well in this parish and in this country.”
A Vandebilt Catholic High student in Lousiana was caught on video throwing cotton & whipping a Black student with a belt! Absolutely disturbing! This incident is NO laughing matter and should never have happened! This student needs to be held accountable for his racist bullying! pic.twitter.com/on6lSdPowE
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) March 16, 2022