COLUMBUS, Ohio — A woman claims her 11-year-old son was brutally assaulted by another student at Eastland Performance Academy last Tuesday.
Elizabeth Johnson said her son had only been going to the school for a week and a half before the incident took place, and her son barely knew the boy who attacked him.
"I'm so angry, how could this happen to my child?” Johnson said.
Johnson said she received a call from a staff member at the school last Tuesday while she was on her way to pick her son up from school. She said they told her her son was bleeding and would need to go to the hospital.
When she got to the school, Johnson said she found her son profusely bleeding from his ear.
"He was just absolutely hysterical and just saying, ‘Mommy, I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything. I don't know why he did that',” Johnson said.
Johnson said staff at the school told her he had been attacked by another student while in class. The teacher in the classroom at the time told Johnson she didn’t see what was happening until the end of the fight.
"She didn't notice my son being picked up by his throat and punched in the head repeatedly, she didn't notice my son being thrown into a window repeatedly, she didn't notice my son's head being slammed off of a desk repeatedly,” Johnson said.
While at the hospital, they learned her son had a cracked skull, a ruptured eardrum, bruises all over his body and a concussion.
Johnson said the teacher claimed she tried to get the other student off her son but was unable to.
"When you supposedly couldn't get this child off, why didn't you send a student to go get help from a teacher close by?" Johnson said.
Johnson filed a report with the Columbus Division of Police. According to the report, it's being investigated as felonious assault. The report also states according to Johnson’s son, he lost consciousness at one point during the altercation.
Johnson said her son claimed he was talking and joking with a friend when another boy interrupted and started attacking him.
"That should have never happened to my child, certainly not as severe as that. There's no excuse,” Johnson said.
She believes the school should have done more to intervene and they’re dragging their feet with the investigation.
Johnson added she decided to transfer her son from a middle school in Whitehall to EPA after other incidents of bullying.
"Bullying needs to be dealt with more severely, a lot more severely than it is,” Johnson said.
Superintendent Jeff Luelleman released a statement in response:
"The School is aware of and is addressing a possible physical altercation between students occurring on October 8 at the School. Staff are fully cooperating with requests from law enforcement in accordance with federal law requirements, and the School is taking steps pursuant to established procedures to ensure E-P-A remains a safe and productive learning environment for all students. The School is unable to comment further due to federal and state privacy law restrictions."
Johnson added she now plans to homeschool her son as he deals with the trauma of the incident.