For several years, Isaiah Wooding has had to put up with taunts from his classmates in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania because he has cerebral palsy. Well, it took an ugly turn last week, when some idiots attacked him in the hallway of his school and posted the carnage on social media. Now police in the Pittsburgh suburb are investigating.
On Friday morning, Isaiah, a sophomore at Penn Hills High School, was turning the corner on the way to his next class when someone violently kicked him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. He was evaluated that night at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, and didn’t appear to have any serious injuries.
It turned out that another student was nearby to record the whole thing. Watch here.
At least as chilling, if not more chilling, than the actual attack was that many nearby students saw it and laughed. That’s right, LAUGHED. You would think that in this day and age, with heightened awareness about bullying, someone would have come to Isaiah’s aid–especially considering that he has cerebral palsy. But instead, they thought it was a big joke.
Isaiah’s mother, Margaret, doesn’t think this was a joke. She thinks it was “intentionally done” and “all set up.” Isaiah frequently suffers from seizures, and that kick to the chest could have triggered one. Cliff Notes version–this could have had a very ugly ending.
Isaiah himself said he was “kind of hurt” and “embarrassed” by the attack. However, he has vowed not to let this or any other instance of bullying keep him down; indeed, he was back in school on Monday morning. He wants to be a voice for other kids with cerebral palsy, in hopes of ending “all this hurt and disappointment and anger” that he and others have to endure.
Needless to say, Margaret Wooding wants those responsible for this outrage to be expelled and hauled into court. She also wants school officials to make it easier for bullying victims to “feel comfortable speaking out” so they will know that there’s “someone actually listening to them.”
Penn Hills School District superintendent Nancy Hines issued a burning statement condemning the attack on Isaiah and promising that all those re However, she reserved her harshest words for the bystanders.
“Assuming the video clips are authentic and have not been altered, our full staff and Board are absolutely disgusted and embarrassed by the lack of compassion displayed by students closest to the incident and those who created further upset by recording and posting those terrible images online. That is NOT the Penn Hills Way, and we know the overwhelming majority of our students are embarrassed and disgusted as well!!!”
Late Monday afternoon, Penn Hills police chief Howard Burton told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh that his department has opened an investigation into the attack. The fact that this came only 48 hours after this video came to light can only be described as good news. Hopefully it won’t be long before they get to the bottom of this.
If I were the attacker, the person who taped the incident, and anyone else who planned this outrageous stunt, I have a question to ask. Are you proud of yourselves? It is only a question of when, not if, you will be expelled from school, and possibly brought up on charges of felonious assault. You deserve to have this criminal stunt tied around your necks like an anchor for the rest of your lives. You should count yourself very lucky that you didn’t send Isaiah to the hospital. And to those who stood there and didn’t come to Isaiah’s aid, you should all be ashamed of yourselves. You should all personally apologize to him–without having anyone tell you to do it.
