WENTZVILLE, Mo. — A video of Wentzville Middle School seventh-grade student Byata getting chocolate milk poured on her by another student on Tuesday at lunch made the rounds on social media.
Byata's parents, Paul Tripp and Melissa Alan were stunned.
"I threw up. It made me sick, literally," Tripp said.
"Cried a lot. I called him then I cried some more then I was just mad. Pure mama mode at that point," Alan said.
It didn't stop there, several seconds later, the student came back and repeatedly hit Byata in the head.
"Between the milk and the punches being thrown, how was someone not there already to help? The reaction time was horrendous," Alan said.
Tripp said the school called him, explained the incident and advised that Byata didn't need to go home.
"She got hit in the back of her head multiple times hard. She needed to be seen by a doctor and for a principal or a nurse or for anyone to say she didn't need to go home, the sense of urgency for her safety was just not there," Tripp said.
Tripp said this isn't the first time their daughter's been bullied by the same student at Wentzville.
"They told my daughter when she asked if the girl would be expelled, they told her no, something like this usually gets a maximum four days out of school suspension," Tripp said.
The district released a statement stating, "We do not tolerate this type of behavior. Our team has completed its investigation and appropriate discipline has been given."
Alan and Tripp are demanding the district change its bullying policies.
"If you hit back or if you defend yourself, you're suspended as well. That's insane to me," Alan said.
"All this crazy stuff, and it's mainly because of bullying and because the adults won't take it seriously and actually do something about it," Tripp said.
In 2019, we reported a bullying incident where a Wentzville Middle School student was punched 19 times in the head.
The district's statement said then and now that they are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students.