CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Eleven-year-old Adam Steward is home from school in a sling, with a broken collarbone. His mother became emotional as she talked to Channel 9 about an incident at school Thursday.
"He said he was really dizzy afterwards, and he didn't really know what was happening, and he was in a lot of pain," said Shantell Hogue.
His mother said it started over her son's inexpensive shoes during breakfast at Chester Middle School, when an older kid, wouldn't stop harassing him about it.
At some point after breakfast, students got up to go to class, and the older boy kept taunting the 11-year-old, even following him into his class.
"Once they got in the classroom he apparently started pushing my son, because my son wasn't reacting back to him. My son asked him to stop, and he still continued to do it so my son swung at him and hit him in the face," Hogue said.
The older boy then reportedly body-slammed him to the floor, while the teacher was just outside the door, letting students into class. Steward landed on his head and shoulders, breaking a bone, and leaving bruises on his upper back.
After interviewing students in the class, sheriff's deputies charged the teen. Channel 9 found an incident report showing a charge for assault second-degree, and an on-scene arrest at the school.
Responding to our questions about the incident, the Chester Count School District sent the below e-mailed statement:
"The incident was handled by teachers, administrators, security officers as well as the school resource officer as soon as the incident was discovered. Privacy rules do not allow the district to release any information regarding discipline for specific students. In school policy, however, discipline can range from out of school suspension to expulsion."
Hogue just wants to school she entrusts her child to to protect him.
"You send your kids to get an education, and now they're just getting bullied and beat up," she said.
Her son, who threw the punch, will not face charges, and his mother said he was not suspended or given any school discipline.
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