A few days after the start of classes, a group of teenagers brutally attacked a 14-year-old student near a high school in Lévis, rekindling the issue of school violence, which already made headlines during the last school year.
The fight occurred at lunchtime on Wednesday between students from Champagnat High School. The incident took place outside the school, near the arena located a few steps away, according to the video obtained by TVA Nouvelles.
It all started when the alleged victim wrote the word “ugly” on a piece of paper, referring to a classmate, who ended up with the message in her hands. The situation then escalated a few hours later.
“From the first blow, everyone got involved. Then, there was a moment when you couldn’t see my daughter anymore because there were so many people on top of her,” the teenager’s mother testified anonymously, in order to protect her daughter’s identity.
“She received multiple punches and kicks. […] “We can’t even see who was kicking because there were so many kicks at the same time. She was on the ground so the kicks were easy to deliver,” she said.
The parents of the alleged victim are asking the police, the school administration and the school service centre to launch an investigation. They claim that only their daughter would be suspended in this case. The alleged attackers were in all likelihood still at the high school on Friday, without consequences.
“I have no cooperation from the school,” said the mother of the girl, who was rushed to hospital and will not be able to play sports for three weeks.
The Lévis police department confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the matter. The police are in contact with the family of the alleged victim, the alleged attackers and the school, said the department’s spokesperson, Véronique Blouin.
“These images are still extremely disturbing. As soon as we became aware of them, we requested verification from the Navigateurs school service centre,” responded Education Minister Bernard Drainville.
“We can never say it enough: violence and bullying are a NO! It must not just be words. We must move from words to actions,” he insisted, emphasizing that each school must have an action plan against violence and bullying.
The minister also added that Quebec continues to work to strengthen the action plan against violence that was put in place last October.
–With information from Yves Poirier, TVA Nouvelles
