Friends and family of the mother of a mixed-race year one school pupil have initiated a Facebook campaign to seek justice for her daughter who, she claims, was kicked and beaten “beyond recognition” in her school playground.
Lacey Harris filed a police report with the Pascagoula Police Department in racially-charged Mississippi on Thursday after 5-year-old AvaLynn came home from school with “her face swollen, cut, and bruised beyond recognition,” according to a description of the incident posted to the Facebook group “Justice For AvaLynn.”
According to the Facebook posting: “AvaLynn informed Lacey that she was assaulted by another student: that she was kicked repeatedly in the face until she fell off of the slide on the school’s playground. The school informed Lacey [that there] were no teachers present when the incident occurred, and because of that, no one could prove whether or not another student had harmed Ava.”
Despite their assertion that absence of supervision makes it impossible to establish what took place, the school goes on to claim that AvaLynn injured herself and that no other students are responsible for her injuries, according to AL.com. The school’s statement reads: “A student was injured while playing on the playground at Arlington Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. School officials responded to the situation. The parent was contacted and the student received medical treatment. No other children were involved in the incident. The Pascagoula School District remains committed to the safety of all its students.”
Pascagoula Police Department’s Lt. Jim Roe told reporters: “The mother alleges another child kicked her child on the slide. Right now, there’s no indication something criminal took place. I have spoken with school security and an assistant superintendent is investigating the matter.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to raise money for AvaLynn’s “medical needs and travel expenses.”
