What was the possible reason for the attack that happened inside the Belleville West High School bus?”
BELLEVILLE — Police are calling the Monday morning attack of a Belleville West High School student on a school bus racially motivated. Two black juvenile suspects are in custody after they allegedly beat a white student on a bus heading to Belleville West, police and school officials said. The 17-year-old victim was one of just a few white students on the crowded bus about 8 a.m. A surveillance video from a camera mounted inside the bus shows the victim being choked and punched by two other students, ages 14 and 15. “By watching the video, it looks like it was racially motivated,” Belleville Police Capt. Don Sax said. “It stands out to me.” According to a news release, the victim sat on a bus seat next to one of the suspects, and the suspect told the older student not to sit there. There were few open seats available on the bus. In the video, one of the suspects attempted to push the older student out of his seat and began punching the victim in the face and choking him. Many of the s
Two Belleville West students accused of beating a classmate on a school bus Monday have been suspended and are awaiting the possible filing of formal charges in juvenile court. Police called the attack by two black students against a white student racially motivated. The suspects, ages 14 and 15, have been suspended as the result of the beating and choking of a 17-year-old student, confirmed Superintendent Greg Moats. Because it is a student discipline matter, and because the suspects are juveniles, none of the youths involved are being identified. Moats did not say how long the students were suspended because “by law, I can’t tell you student discipline.” He said school administrators are allowed to suspend students up to 10 days; longer suspensions and expulsions must be confirmed by the Board of Education. “They are removed from the school and then there will a hearing conducted,” Moats said Tuesday morning. “Any further action has to be done by the Board of Education.” The 17-year-
A Belleville police spokesman now says an incident where a white student was beaten by teen black assailants on a bus “may not be racially motivated.” “It was premature on my part,” said Belleville Police Capt. Don Sax. “It was my personal and emotional comment after only seeing the video briefly.” The 17-year-old victim was white and the teen assailants were black. Police released a video of the beating, which shows the victim being punched repeatedly while other students on the bus gather to watch, some cheering. It doesn’t appear that the victim did anything to provoke an attack and tried only to defend himself. Police said it all unfolded in a five-minute span. The victim was trying to find a seat and was told by two students he could not sit next to them, police said.
