A shocking video shows a black boy at a Florida school being beaten up by a white student while others filmed - but a judge has refused his mother's request for a restraining order.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, Lauren Springfield said her 12-year-old son was attacked in a "violent, malicious manner" at RW Blake Academy in Lakeland.
"As one student repeatedly hit him over and over again, others not only held my son down so that the student could hit him but encouraged the attack. I am enraged," she wrote.
"This could have ended much differently, our child has one kidney and after getting kneed several times this could have resulted in permanent damage."
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Video shows one student wrestling and kneeing her son, before pushing him over a bench and repeatedly punching him. He suffered a cut to his eyebrow, knot on his forehead and a black eye.
Lakeland Police Captain Steven Pacheco said the incident began after words were exchanged between boys in the locker room, and one took them "to heart" and acted on them.
School and police officials told reporters on Thursday (local time) the main attacker faces a simple battery charge and at least a 10-day suspension. The others involved face disciplinary action as well.
However, Springfield says this isn't good enough. She's requested a restraining order - which was denied by a judge - and is demanding to know what the school is going to do to protect her child.
"It only takes one hit for a child to die. How many more times would you like this to happen to our child or any other child?" she wrote.
"Policy must change to protect our children - or we will continue to mourn children for stupid reasons."
