A 14-year-old Stevens High School student says she is still recovering, physically and emotionally, after a fellow student three years older attacked her in the school cafeteria last month while staff stood by. Chanell Martinez says the fight went two rounds before anyone stepped in to stop it, and she and her mother say the ordeal has left lasting scars.
Martinez says she was assaulted by a 17-year-old boy in the cafeteria at Stevens High School, located in San Antonio, while staff members watched for an extended amount of time, according to KTXS. A video of the fight that circulated on social media shows the older student dragging and beating Martinez, per the same report. The footage reportedly began spreading last month, the station notes.
Martinez told the outlet the altercation did not come out of nowhere. She says the 17-year-old had bullied her for years, and that Northside ISD had already been notified of the allegations. She also said the boy jumped on her after bullying her about her deceased father, and that she had hoped staff would step in to separate them once the fight started.
Two Rounds Before Staff Intervened
According to Martinez, the confrontation unfolded in two separate rounds, each lasting between three and five minutes, before school staff finally stepped in. She said she fought back during that stretch and that staff intervened only after the second round had already played out. Martinez also said teachers stood around and watched the attack rather than breaking it up sooner, the station reported.
Martinez's mother, Sylvia Garza, described the physical and emotional toll the fight has taken on her daughter in the weeks since. She told the outlet that Martinez was in a lot of pain, vomiting, nausea, she couldn't eat for day, and has also experienced panic attacks and stress. Garza said her daughter has been having nightmares, and just recently started eating normally again.
Family Says Charges Have Been Filed
Garza said she and her daughter have filed charges against the boy, though the specific nature of those charges and any outcome of the legal process have not been detailed publicly. Garza has also said she believes Northside ISD failed to protect her daughter, a claim the district has not directly addressed in its public statements on the incident.
Northside ISD, in a statement, said campus administrators addressed the mutual fight and applied consequences following the district's Student Code of Conduct. The district also said administrators investigated the bullying allegations but were unable to substantiate the claim. The district said it would not share specific details of the disciplinary outcome in order to protect student privacy.
District Outlines Its Intervention Policy
Northside ISD said staff should safely intervene in an effort to prevent injuries while calling for support from campus administrators and police, according to the district's statement relayed by KTXS. Under the district's own Student Code of Conduct, the code is in force whenever a student boards a school bus, steps onto school grounds, or attends a school-sponsored activity, and it defines the consequences that can be imposed for student misbehavior. The code also states that students are under the direct supervision of school administrators or classroom teachers at all times.
This is not the first time a Stevens High School family has raised concerns about how the campus has handled reports of harassment before a physical confrontation. A 2016 report from KSAT described a different Stevens student, Domiana, being beaten at school. Her mother had raised concerns with school leaders. Domiana's mother said at the time that an assistant principal had assured her the school would monitor the situation and keep her posted, but that no one ever followed up.
