AWM | One Alabama mom is fuming, and for good reason. Kelly Turpin’s nine-year-old daughter, Lanny, sustained several injuries during the school day, including: two black eyes, a concussion and several scrapes and bruises. This wasn’t your average bullying incident and she’s rightfully upset over it.
The incident occurred on Friday morning at the L.E. Wilson Elementary School, in Sheffield, a city with a population of just under 10,000. After Turpin was called into the school, she discovered her daughter covered in blood.
Immediately after school authorities told Turpin that Lanny had been accidentally injured, the girl spoke up and said…
“No, Momma, I told them she grabbed me and pulled me and jumped on top of me.”
According to Lanny, something quite different happened. While she and a few fellow classmates were walking through an outdoor section of the school from art class, a girl jumped on her and her head hit a metal pole. She then fell to the concrete.
Evidently, the suspect was upset that Lanny was friends with another student she didn’t approve of.
Immediately following the incident, the girl said…“I’m so sorry. Don’t tell anybody I did it.”
While Lanny is expected to be fine, she had to go to the hospital for a CT scan and she is currently enduring a lot of pain.
Turpin posted photos on Facebook showing the severity of Lanny’s injuries, along with the comment: “This is assault, not just bullying…
Turpin went on to vent about how upset she was over the incident.
Turpin and her husband are currently seeking legal advice and are contemplating homeschooling.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that the Turpin family has experienced severe bullying, as her older daughter also went through dealing with a group of mean friends at the school. Evidently, Lanny had been getting harassed by the girl who jumped her, since long before the incident occurred.
“Nothing has changed when we’ve gone to the school about the bullying,” said Turpin, who found out that nothing had been done to discipline the child after she was told her daughter’s attacker would be suspended for two days. “I just want them safe at school.”
Principal of Wilson Elementary School, Tony Willis couldn’t comment because Turpin had already spoken to an attorney, however; he provided the following statement:
“With any incident, we’re going to look into it and follow our code of conduct to the letter. We try to be proactive rather than reactive and make sure students are comfortable enough to talk with us when they encounter problems.”
According to the Sheffield City Schools Superintendent, Keith Lankford, school officials were not notified of the bullying going on between Lanny and the attacker, until after the incident occurred. He also went on to say that the incident is currently under investigation and the district will enforce the school’s code of conduct.
Regardless of how long the bullying had been going on prior to the incident, it sound like the school should punish the attacker accordingly, unless they want to see more incidents like this unfold.