28-03-2025
Advocates protest, create petition following alleged attack at Gaston County high school
GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Gaston County student will face charges, following an alleged assault caught on camera inside a classroom.
It happened Tuesday at Ashbrook High School. Because the accused student is younger than 18, investigators are not releasing exactly what charges he will face. Gaston County Police turned this case over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The alleged attack is causing quite the stir. Protesters went to this district office Thursday afternoon to share their concerns.
'I will stand up for these kids if nobody else will,' said Teresa MacFarlane, who protested. 'I will.'
MacFarlane is one of about a dozen people, who brought signs and stood outside the Gaston County Schools Central Office Thursday afternoon in protest, after seeing a video of an alleged assault at Ashbrook High School.
'We have anti-bullying policies but apparently they're not working or we wouldn't be having situations like we had yesterday,' she said.
The video shows one student repeatedly hitting another. It also shows the targeted student falling out of his chair and onto the ground. People online are claiming the victim may have special needs, but district leaders aren't able to confirm that because of privacy laws.
'We want the students to be able to go to school and learn, not be worried about their safety,' said MacFarlane. 'We want measures put in place to make that happen.'
MacFarlane is an advocate for special needs children and started a petition calling for cameras in all Gaston County classrooms and for the district to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against bullying.
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Rule 6 in Gaston County Schools Student Code of Conduct states, 'students shall not bully or harass other students.' For high schoolers, the consequences range from in-school disciplinary action, such as long-term suspension, to criminal charges.
Rule 10 states, 'students shall not fight or attempt to cause bodily harm to another student.' Those consequences range from up to 10 days of out-of-school suspension, to law enforcement involvement.
'We still have a lot of bullying going on in the school system that we need to address and we need for the school board to adopt some policies and procedures to nip this in the bud,' said MacFarlane. 'It's not okay with the citizens of Gaston County.'
Queen City News reached out to Gaston County Schools officials and asked if they had any comments on the protest and petition. We're waiting to hear back.
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