PHOENIX, Arizona — Cell phone video of a boy repeatedly punching a girl in a sixth-grade class at Alfred F. Garcia Elementary School in Phoenix has gone viral, and the mother of the victim is upset with the school for not contacting her after the beating.
The 12-year-old girl who was punched did not want to show her face or give her name, but says a lot of kids in school have seen the video.
"It's gotten to the point where it's so viral, that they've made memes about it," said the victim.
The girl used to be friends with the boy who is seen punching her, but she claims she made a joke months ago about his sister.
She says she feels the attack was planned and some kids pulled out their phones to record it.
"I looked at the phone, and I knew it was coming," said the victim. "That's why I didn't do anything about it."
The victim says she didn't tell her mom because she didn't want her to worry.
"It was hard telling her because I don't like seeing my mom cry," said the victim. "It hurts."
But her mom, Antoinette Contreras saw it days later.
"It just feels like all my fears and worst thoughts happened," said Contreras. "They came true."
Contreras says she is shocked the school never contacted her. She finally got through to the principal on Thursday.
"My question to her was, 'Why did you not contact me?'" said Contreras. "This happened on Monday. It is now Thursday."
And while she wants the boy to face consequences, more importantly, Contreras wants him to get help.
"I come from, what we call the ghetto, south Phoenix," said Contreras. "A lot of times these kids are rejected. They're the rejects of the world. The outcasts. The misfits. They're the ones that no one cares about. Because the parents don't care about them at home. And the staff doesn't care about them at school. And no one on the streets cares about these kids."
Contreras says she plans to pull all of her children out of the Murphy Elementary School District. She will also bring the issue to district officials and police.
There is a new law that goes into effect next school year that requires school officials to notify parents after violent incidents.
