New York, NY — Two white girls from New York, 10 and 11-years old, have been charged with a hate crime for allegedly attacking a 10-year old Black girl on a school bus. The bus attendant, who is also white, is also facing charges for not trying to stop the attack.
The little Black girl was reportedly harassed, beaten, and subjected to racially motivated language. She suffered hair loss and bruise to her knee when she fell backward after her hair was pulled. She also sustained a black eye from being punched.
“It is probably the most professionally devastating event since I started working at Gouverneur in 1984,” the district’s superintendent, Lauren French, told WWNY TV.
The victim’s mother reported the incident to the police on September 10.
Two girls, who are ages 10 and 11 and are students of Gouverneur Middle School in New York, have been charged with second-degree harassment. The 11-year old girl was additionally charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime.
Tiffany Spencer, a 28-year old bus attendant who is also white, was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child after she apparently witnessed the attack but made no effort to stop or prevent it.
“How do we become better out of this? How do we treat everyone better?” French said. She added the district has “reached out to various resources we have access to, to provide additional training to our staff and additional training, support, recognition, conversation to our student body.”
French also said that First Student, the company that provides bus service to the district, will be required to provide additional training to bus aides and monitors.
“I firmly believe we are better than this, and we have to take a stand,” French said.
Meanwhile, the two girls accused of the attack are ordered to appear in a family court with their parents.