A Muslim student from Katy ISD’s Beckendorff Junior High remained hospitalized Thursday night after having his jaw broken on campus in what some are calling a hate crime.
According to a statement issued by the Houston Chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, the 13-year-old was bullied and attacked because of his religious and ethnic background.
“A Muslim junior high school student’s jaw was broken earlier this week by a fellow student who had allegedly bullied the victim using ethnic and religious slurs, including calling the injured student a ‘terrorist’,” the CAIR chapter said in a statement.
The group added the eighth-grader’s injuries were “severe” and he needed surgery to repair two breaks in his jaw. The procedure reportedly included the insertion of several pins and a plate to repair the injuries.
The boy’s father said his son had been previously taunted by the assailant, including being called a “terrorist.”
Another family member said the other boy repeatedly asked the victim how many people his family blew up.
The identities of the victim and his family are being withheld by InstantNewsKaty.
In a statement released Thursday, KISD spokesman Steve Stanford said both students were minorities and both had engaged in an exchange of ethnic slurs prior to the assault.
“The campus has investigated this incident and it has come to light that both students, both of whom are minorities, had been exchanging racial and ethnic slurs back and forth to each other prior to this event,” the statement said. “Neither student notified campus administrators about the situation and, unfortunately, it ended in a physical altercation. Had either student brought this issue to a teacher, principal or counselor, then the campus would have intervened appropriately and prevented this altercation.”
Beckendorff Junior High Principal Ted Vierling said he regretted the situation was not reported to school officials by either the students or their parents.
“I am very disappointed that our students behaved this way as we absolutely do not tolerate this kind of behavior. I also regret that the school was not made aware of this situation by either the students or their parents,” Vierling said. “Our staff and parents model for our students every day how to treat others with dignity and respect and we will continue to do so.”
Family members of the hospitalized boy had no comment on either statement.
