A white 15-year-old in Louisiana has been arrested after he started tossing cotton balls at a Black student and slapping him with a belt in school.
The incident was caught on camera on March 9 inside the cafeteria at Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma, Louisiana. The white student, who is a freshman, was taken into custody on March 15 and has since been charged with simple battery and hate crime, and has been taken to a local juvenile center, WWL-TV reports.
After the white student accosted the Black student in the busy cafeteria, the Black student stood up and pushed the white student. Neither of their identities has been revealed since they’re both minors.
The archdiocese released a statement on March 10, which said, “Actions by a few are not consistent with the values and mission of our school.”
The student who was the victim is apparently one of very few Black students who attend the school. The boy’s parents also issued a statement: “We will continue to pray for our school community as a whole, that we not only get through this together but that we each learn a valuable lesson from what has taken place.”
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation, writing on Facebook that the incident does seem to be racially motivated. “The parents of the victim also met with the school’s administration and they are diligently assisting the parents with addressing this non-acceptable episode,” the statement read.
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