NILES, Mich. (WNDU) – A video capturing a disturbing altercation between a fifth-grade student and a younger peer from Ballard Elementary School in Niles has sparked widespread outrage on social media.
The incident took place on Monday, March 4, during the afternoon school bus route. While the exact footage is not being broadcast by WNDU 16 News Now due to its graphic nature and duration exceeding two minutes, it depicts a heated argument between the two students, characterized by the exchange of expletives. The situation escalates as the female student, in a moment of aggression, stands up while the bus is in motion and proceeds to strike the smaller male student more than 18 times in the head.
Brittany Ottinger, a concerned parent, recounted the impact of the altercation on her son, who was seated next to the male student targeted in the incident. She expressed her distress over the lack of immediate notification regarding the event, which left her son with a bruised eye from being pushed against the bus window during the altercation.
Dr. Dan Applegate, the superintendent of Niles Community Schools, provided an update stating that the district’s Code of Conduct committee will assemble on Tuesday to address the incident. The student involved has already been removed from both the bus and the school premises.
Furthermore, it was revealed that another driver was present on the bus, assisting a first-time driver with route directions and stops. However, due to the commotion on the bus, neither driver was aware of the altercation unfolding among the students.
This incident coincides with a separate tragic event in Missouri, where a girl was injured near a high school, sustaining a severe head injury and remaining in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon.
Despite the challenging circumstances, Ottinger expressed the difficulty of encouraging her son to return to school following the traumatic experience.
Efforts to contact the parents of the involved students yielded a response from the girl’s father declining to engage with media inquiries.
School officials highlighted the presence of video cameras on the buses, emphasizing their role in the investigative process and the forthcoming meeting with the Code of Conduct committee to address the incident.
Updated letter to Niles community regarding school bus incident:
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