A video of a bullying incident at an Elk Grove high school has launched an investigation by the school and police.
Administrators with the Elk Grove Unified School District say the incident happened Wednesday morning at Cosumnes Oaks High School.
The Twitter video lasts 43 seconds, it begins with a student off camera shouting “go, go.” The aggressor is a teenage boy who then pushes an unsuspecting teenage boy and strikes him in the face. The aggressor lands five more punches to the victim’s face before a male student breaks up the incident by throwing the aggressor to the ground.
“Are you going to stop,” the student asked twice before letting the aggressor up.
The student who broke up the fight is being touted a hero on social media by parents, students and community members.
You later see the victim, in tears, shout “What did I do?”
Xanthi Pinkerton, a spokeswoman with the Elk Grove Unified School District, said school leaders are taking action.
“It’s an uncomfortable thing to watch and it’s something we were very concerned about,” Pinkerton said.
The family of the bullied student released a statement saying the boy is healing physically and emotionally. They also applaud the COHS student body for how it's reacting to the incident.
"We encourage our children to stand up and do something to help whenever possible," the family wrote. "It is refreshing to see it in action. If we can shine light on such a tragic situation we would like to applaud the student body at COHS for standing together to end bullying."
District officials said they could not comment on specific discipline, but said the school is responding appropriately.
The mother of a COHS junior, Ebony Jones, learned of the incident a few hours after it happened.
“It really broke my heart,” Jones said. “Just to see the pain on the boy’s face was very terrible.”
COHS students spoke out against the acts in an editorial broadcast during the student announcements.
“And as young adults and members of our society, it is our job to make sure no one is being mistreated,” students said during the broadcast. “Nothing will change if we don’t do our part. The strength of the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf.”
Father of a COHS freshman, Jamie Larot, said it comes down to respect.
“You see it on the news, too, nowadays, you know. There’s all kinds of things happening and going on,” Larot said. “So, it doesn’t look good for us and our community. And kids around here at school”
Jones said she tells her child to make good choices every day before she drops him off to school.
“I raise my children to be very protective of anybody that they know and bullying is not acceptable at all,” Jones said. “And it hurts to know that somebody at this school, you know, did that to another student.”
ABC10 spoke with the family of the victim. The victim’s mother said the family is deeply upset by what happened and is trying to put everything behind them.
The incident is being investigated by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
Law enforcement cited the student with battery but no charges have been filed.