Mom says son kicked out of First Coast High after gang beat him up

Principal says fight wasn't gang related and all parties have been punished

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother said her son has been suspended from First Coast High School, after a group of teenagers she described as gang members beat him up.

Parts of the incident were caught on cellphone video.

The video begins focused on a boy in a white shirt and red shoes. That boy's mother, who doesn't want to be identified, said her son was the target of a gang beating.

"He got hit in his head, kicked and stomped," the woman said. "He's scared. He doesn't want to go to school because he's scared he's going to get jumped on again."

This comes nearly a week after the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, parents and teachers met to discuss gang activity among students in Jacksonville.

The First Coast High mom said the fight with her son happened last Wednesday morning, just before class. She said she believes it was gang members who beat up her son, because the teenagers all had on the same shirt.

She said other parents have come forward and told her their children were victims of this same gang, called OTS.

"It's heartbreaking. It's just horrible," the mom said. "I just feel really, really bad. I just feel like no one's child should have to go through this."

First Coast High's principal told Channel 4 on Monday that after investigating the fight school officials determined it was an isolated event and was not gang related. The principal also said officials have identified everyone involved in the fight and they have all been disciplined according to the school's student code of conduct.

The boy's mom said she told the school principal two weeks ago her son was being bullied. She said the principal and school resource officer assured her the situation would be handled. But then the fight happened.

Monday she said she learned her son had been kicked out of school.

"I'm just wondering why my child is being sent to alternative school when he was jumped on," she said.

The school district said that if the mom is not happy with the disciplinary action taken, she can file an appeal with the school.

She said that she plans to remove her son from public school altogether.