Belleville, IL – A Belleville West High School student was beaten aboard a bus on the way to school Monday. Police initially believed the attack was motivated by race. Later, a police spokesperson said that upon reviewing the video caught on the school bus camera, that the attack didn’t strike him as being as nearly racially motivated.
The 17-year-old victim was white and his 14 and 15-year-old assailants were black. Police released a video of the beating, which shows the victim being punched repeatedly while other students on the bus gather to watch, some cheering.
It apparently begins when he sits down where he’s not wanted, and the boy next to him starts throwing words, then punches. That attack stops, but then another student takes it up.
The victim did not require medical treatment, and the two attackers have been suspended. They may also face criminal charges. The bus driver, who is on administrative leave, said he never saw the first attack, just students standing up.
He said when he saw the student being attacked a second time, he radioed dispatch for help. At that point, the bus was two to three minutes away from the school, so the driver chose not to pull over.