Student’s family speaks out on bullying after Geraldton school bashing over a vape posted on social media

The family of a boy allegedly bashed after an apparent disagreement over a vape, claims more needs to be done in schools to address bullying. Geraldton Police are investigating the incident filmed and posted on social media involving a group of students from Geraldton Senior High School sitting at a park bench in Maitland Park, across the road from the school, while a boy was assaulted last week. The graphic video shows the accused boy yanking a student by his shirt from behind after he was thrown on a table and punching him several times to the head. After the stunned victim retreats several metres away from the group — with none of them coming to his aid — the attacker turns to the camera and calmly says “wait, so I get the vape?” to the laughter of his friends. The boy filming the attack is heard saying “here we go” and exclaims in delight as the furious attack begins. The alleged victim’s aunty told the Geraldton Guardian more should be done in schools to prevent bullying and teachers and caregivers needed to be aware of the signs. “He didn’t tell any of us, kept it quiet to himself and we were wondering why he was so quiet and eventually we found out,” she said. “The incident was horrible, I can’t even bare to watch it. It was wrong what happened and it’s affected my nephew in many ways, mentally and emotionally.” The aunt said her nephew received facial bruising but wasn’t seriously injured and was taken out of Geraldton Senior High School. “He’s been pulled out of school but we’re all here supporting him and hopefully get him into another school next term,” she said. The mother of the accused boy posted on social media there were two sides to the story and claimed the vape was stolen by the alleged victim. Officer-in-charge of Geraldton Police Sen. Sgt Chris Martin said police were investigating the incident, which he alleged was sparked over a disagreement between two students over a vape. “We will be taking a zero tolerance approach to this and those involved will be feeling the full force of the law,” he said. Sen. Sgt Martin said vapes were becoming an issue in the community and it was particularly disappointing to see children using them. “Whether they’ve been bought in from people abroad or they’ve been imported illegally somewhere, we work very closely with Australian Border Force to identify those potential people involved,” he said. Sen. Sgt Martin said police had noticed a “slight trend” of poor behaviour and filming violence among school-aged children. “The trend of organising a fight with your mates and filming it on a mobile phone and putting it on social media is just a no go. It’s really terrible behaviour,” he said. “People should be on notice now, if you’re publicising or streaming a fight amongst people we’re going to come and seize your phone, we’re going to shut down your social media site, we’re going to use a lot of that evidence to further investigations. “Standing by and watching someone being attacked is deplorable.” Sen. Sgt Martin said police and the Department of Education were working closely to identify the school’s concerns which involved violence and how it could be prevented. Deputy director general schools Melesha Sands said an anti-vaping program would be launched at schools to tackle rising vape concerns. “Vaping and the use of e-cigarettes among school students is an ongoing health concern. To help address this, specifically targeted programs and an anti-vaping toolkit are being implemented in schools,” she said. “The toolkit represents a $1 million investment in helping schools to address issues around vaping among school students. “If you suspect your child is vaping, make sure you talk to them about it, and help them understand the risks.” Director of Education in the Mid West region, Lisa Criddle, said though the incident did not occur on school grounds, the level of violence should be a concern for the Geraldton community. “Schools will continue working with young people and their families to educate them on appropriate behaviour and emphasise that aggression towards others is completely unacceptable,” she said. “The student featured in the video was on suspension from school at the time of the incident.” For information on vaping visit the Department of Education website.