Bellingham Police are investigating an attack on a transgender high school student and are pursuing possible assault and hate crime charges against the juveniles involved in the beating, which the suspects recorded and shared on social media.
Police spokeswoman Megan Peterson told The Bellingham Herald that the attack, which happened about 1:30 p.m. Oct. 22, involved several teenagers.
"The juvenile victim reported that the group shouted anti-trans phrases at them while they were shoved and hit. The victim was able to run away and seek refuge at (Bellingham High School) and report the assault. Investigation is ongoing," Peterson said in an Oct. 23 email.
Bellingham High School officials had the boy call his mother, but they did not summon police or medical aid after the assault, which left the 16-year-old victim with facial cuts, swelling and bruises. The student now suffers frequent headaches and memory loss, his mother told The Herald in an interview Tuesday.
"If I had not insisted that (school officials call 911) multiple times, they wouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have had to ask. I felt that the fact that they didn't call 911 is an absolute dereliction of their duty," Alyssa Ruben said in a phone interview.
Ruben said that she took her son to St. Joseph Medical Center's emergency department, where he was evaluated and released. He's having a follow-up exam for possible traumatic brain injury from the attack.
She said her son was jumped without provocation by several boys outside a business down the street from the high school, and that surveillance video captured the stark brutality of the beating. Her son was punched, thrown against a tree, knocked to the ground and kicked in the head, she said.
She said the boys yelled anti-trans slurs and other insults in the video, which was shared with The Herald.
"The (attack) lasted for multiple, multiple minutes and (my son) was hit multiple times," Ruben said.
Later, a friend of her son's found the video of the attack on the Instagram social media platform. That evidence helped authorities identify the assailants, Ruben said.
Bellingham Public Schools spokeswoman Dana K. Smith verified the attack in an Oct. 28 email to The Herald and elaborated on her statement in an email on Tuesday.
"We continue our school-based investigation and continue to cooperate with the law enforcement investigation. The identity of the other individuals involved was originally unclear to school officials. As we have learned identities, we have shared that information with police. Witnesses have stepped forward, and we continue to share additional info with police. If these individuals are our students, we will also follow our district policy and procedures," Smith said.
Ruben said that the Bellingham Police detective assigned to her son's case is a tenacious investigator who is seeking felony assault and hate crime charges.
But Ruben is critical of Bellingham school officials, whom she feels failed to protect her son and other queer students, including another son who's already graduated.
"This is not the first time we've had to deal with serious bullying within the district," Ruben said.
Ruben and her husband are working with a national organization called the Rainbow Youth Project in an attempt to change school policy regarding treatment of LGBTQIA+ students, people of color and other minorities.
Lance Preston, founder and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project, told The Herald in a phone interview that transgender students need help and support because of discrimination and attempts to limit their civil rights.
Preston said his organization is hoping to force the district to take a more active role in protecting its students.
Bellingham Schools recently settled a lawsuit brought by a former student who said the district failed to protect her from sexual assaults. In June, the parents of an elementary school student sued the district over repeated sexual assaults on a school bus.
"You have LGBTQ kids in that high school who are not out and will never be comfortable reporting (bullying)" because they think the administration doesn't care, Preston said.
The Rainbow Youth Project logged 3,748 crisis interventions from across the country in October. His groups research shows that 84% or queer students reported bulling in the school, and one-third of those students had been assaulted.
"We don't want any child to feel like they're not worthy of being safe in school, whether they're LGBTQ or not.
▪ Anyone who is in immediate danger should call 911, and those suffering a mental health crisis can call 988, according to the Rainbow Youth Project website. Contact the Rainbow Youth Project at 317-643-4888 or [email protected].
▪ Crime tips can be reported anonymously to Bellingham Police online.
▪ Share information, tips, or concerns regarding a school safety issue by text message or calling 844-310-9560 or at bellinghamschools.org/safe for "confidential, anonymous, two-way communication," Smith said.