A viral video of a Texas college student choking an Indian-American colleague has sparked a petition against the aggressor.
A video circulating online shows Shaan Pritmani being assaulted and asphyxiated by a white student in the cafeteria of Coppell Middle School in Texas on May 11.
The video begins with the aggressor choking Shaan with his right arm before demanding that he get up from his chair.
“No, I’m not getting up,” Shaan replies. “There’s literally no one here.”
The student then presses his elbow against Shaan’s neck from behind before smothering him again as he drags him off the chair. Other students surrounding the two can be heard cheering.
Shaan’s parents were contacted by the school and told that their son had been involved in an altercation with another student. The school would have found Shaan in error. As a punishment, he was given a three-day ban from school, while the aggressor was given only one day.
When his parents asked for a reassessment using the viral video as evidence, the school said no changes would be made. The School Resource Officer declined to file a subpoena alleging that the school board asked not to document the incident, as there have been many complaints of bullying.
“Coppell ISD is aware of a video circulating on social media showing an incident at Coppell Middle School North involving a physical altercation between two students,” Dr. Brad Hunt, Superintendent of Coppell School wrote in an email. “Bullying, both verbal and physical, as well as physical aggression are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values.”
Sonika Kukreja, Shaan’s mother, started a petition on Change.org to spread awareness and call on the school to take more action against her son’s aggressor. The petition has since garnered nearly 244,000 signatures, at the time of writing. It will become one of the top petitions on Change.org when it reaches 300,000 signatures.
“Due to lack of support from the Coppell ISD and Coppell PD to properly handle this attack, we demand that the aggressor be removed from my son’s school immediately,” Kukreja wrote. “Shaan should never again have to take a class, interact or walk the halls with this aggressor. Shaan should be able to continue his school experience, friendships and extracurricular activities without worrying about ever coming into contact with this student again. He doesn’t feel safe.”
“Our goal is to raise awareness of the issue of bullying and violence in schools everywhere,” she added. “All children deserve to be safe in school. There must be serious consequences for all the violence against our children. This kind of aggression has to stop!”
Shaan’s parents have reportedly sought legal counsel pending the conclusion of the school’s internal investigation.
Featured image via /u/CoolGuess
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