Police in Washington, D.C., are investigating an incident in which a parent was caught on surveillance video sucker punching a 7-year-old child in the stomach before walking away.
The boy’s mother, Lena Mclean, said that her son came home from school and told her that he had been assaulted by another parent, so she requested the video from KIPP DC Spring Academy and was shocked by what she saw.
“You don’t bully a child, you don’t torment a child. I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t do that to none of your kids,” Mclean told WJLA. “I’ll feel much better when he is locked up.”
“It made my stomach real painful,” the boy, John Mclean, told WJLA.
In the video, a man can be seen hitting the boy in the stomach and walking off while the boy kneels on the ground, obviously in pain.
Lena Mclean recognized the man as a fellow parent and is now asking why he would do such a thing. “You watched my son on the ground and you didn’t do nothing … and all you could say to me is you was playing,” she said.
Since the incident, the school has sent a letter to parents saying, “The health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff remains our number one priority and we will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that students and staff are safe at school.”