WARNING: This video is disturbing to watch
Police in Homestead, Florida say they have made an arrest after a video of a 9-year-old girl being beaten on a school bus went viral.
The girl's mother says she had notified the administration at Coconut Palm K-8 Academy that there was a bullying problem, but she was told there was nothing they could do.
In the cellphone video, one boy is seen repeatedly punching the girl in the head as she tries to fend him off. He stops, and then another boy takes his place and continues to punch her. No adult intervened to stop the beating during the 40-second video.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to a call for help and treated two children before releasing them to their parents.
Since the video went viral, the Miami-Dade school district has been bombarded with cries for someone to be held accountable. They released a statement encouraging parents to teach their children to use restraint and to use social media responsibly.
"This school district goes to great lengths to promote the values of restraint and respect, as well as using social media responsibly," a district spokesperson said in the statement. "We ask that parents reinforce these principles at home." They also assured the community that they are taking the incident seriously and that the person responsible had been arrested and would be charged.
Earlier in the day, the girl's mother says she had also contacted a local news channel in an attempt to make others aware about the school's bullying problem.
Source: Palm Beach Post