School police in Las Vegas are investigating an attack on a 12-year-old girl that was recorded and posted on Facebook.
The incident occurred Friday while students were on the bus home from Wilbur & Theresa Faiss Middle School. In the video, the bullied student, identified by KVVU as sixth-grader Morgan Joy, barely steps off the bus when another girl grabs her by the hair, drags her down the sidewalk and throws her to the ground. The video show the bully then kick Morgan in the ankle as other classmates watch, laugh and document the incident.
Morgan's mother, Suzan Joy, tells KTNV that the attack was planned after Morgan refused to yield her seat on the bus. The boy who took the video, Suzan added, was waiting for the pounce.
"We can sit where we want," Morgan, whose ankle is now sprained, told KVVU. "[I told her] 'It's not your bus' ... and then she got all mad at me. I was pretty much scared she would try to hurt me even more. Luckily she didn't aim for my stomach."
Greg Lyons, the alleged bully's father, defended his daughter, telling KTNV that while he is disappointed in his child's actions, the girl was acting on a tussle she and Morgan had engaged in the previous day.
The bully is being disciplined by the school and could face criminal charges. Students who watched and documented the attack could also face disciplinary action.
"It's an emotional trauma," Suzan told KTNV of Morgan's reaction. "She's frightened to go to school, she's frightened to go on the bus, it has to stop."
Earlier this month, two middle school students in the same school district were arrested for their involvement in a bullying incident that garnered attention on the Internet. The two boys attacked a 13-year-old special-education student after school as peers stood by, egging them on and capturing the incident on camera.
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