By Sara Beth Williams–
Authorities on Thursday confirmed reports that a high school student was attacked by another student during class on Monday, May 20 at Mesa Verde High School.
Steve Nickson, the parent of a Mesa Verde student, reported that his son was attacked by a classmate during class sometime after 12 p.m. on Monday at Mesa Verde High School. Nickson said his son reportedly requested to call home following the incident but was “advised against it.”
According to Nickson, the high school contacted him between one and two hours after the incident occurred. Nickson took his son to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where he said his son was diagnosed with a concussion.
In describing the event, Nickson said his son received three hits to the head and that his head was slammed into a wall after a verbal confrontation from the alleged attacker against his son and two other friends. One of his son’s friends reportedly suffered a minor injury while defending Nickson’s son.
“I’m absolutely furious that a special needs child was assaulted on campus in a classroom,” Nickson told The Sentinel on Wednesday, adding that he’s pressing charges and has informed the high school that his son will be staying home until an arrest is made to avoid any retaliation. Nickson also said he has not gotten a clear answer from the vice principal as to why the school reportedly waited over an hour to contact him.
On Thursday, the district confirmed to The Sentinel via email that an altercation between two students occurred at Mesa Verde at 12:50 p.m. where one student was punched and then hit his head on a desk. Appropriate disciplinary actions have been taken, the district said, but the nature of what disciplinary actions were taken was not provided.
According to the district, shortly following the incident, school administration reached out to contact the guardians of both students, but the district did not indicate at what time contact with the guardian of the victim was first attempted. In addition, a school nurse checked the student that was hit, and follow-up care recommendations were shared with the guardian of the victim, according to the district.
“Injuries evaluated by a school nurse or designated site staff take into consideration many factors, such as symptoms the student is experiencing, any physical signs of injury, etc. If there is not an immediate need for emergency response, generally a recommendation is shared with the parent/guardian regarding follow-up care through their healthcare provider,” San Juan Unified School District Director of Communication Raj Rai said.
According to Nickson, bullying has been a consistent issue for his son since fourth grade, and previous criminal threats have been made against his son in the past, including threats to shoot him.
“My heart hurts for my son, as he made varsity as a wide receiver, and that’s on hold because of this incident,” Nickson said.
The Citrus Heights Police Department confirmed with The Sentinel on Thursday that the Police Department responded to the high school campus on May 20 and determined that an assault did occur. According to police, the school administration is cooperating with the department and the incident is still under investigation at this time.
