FBI says fight at Ardrey Kell High School was not a hate crime

CHARLOTTE, NC – Local and federal law enforcement say a fight between a 15-year-old boy and girl on the Ardrey Kell High School campus was not a hate crime.

The incident in question happened back on March 7th. A week later, the girl’s family held a press conference in front of the school showing photos of her injuries. They claimed the boy targeted her because of her religion.

“He was eyeballing her and in a way trying to intimidate her then started calling her words and it lead to this,” the girl’s father said.

The boy’s parents who asked not to be identified say that’s not true.

“We learned from witness statements that she had been harassing him, and has a history of harassment of others for some time,” the boy’s mother said. “Our son had pretty much learned to ignore her consistent comments and repeated verbal taunting.”

The family says they don’t condone violence, but that their son had been bullied by the girl and reached his breaking point.

“She continued to escalate the level of aggression until ultimately she approached him while he remained seated and verbally assaulted him and followed up with a physical assault,” the boy’s mother said.

The girl’s family demanded a police investigation. Nearly a month later, authorities say this is not a hate crime. The boy’s family says the incident has forced them to have security detail because of death threats.

“Our prayer is that we move on from this in every way that we possibly can,” the boy’s mother said.

Both the boy and the girl were given a ten day suspension. The boy’s parents say they’d like to see schools take a closer look at why some students resort to bullying or violence.

“Hurt people. Hurt people,” the boy’s mother said. “I think there needs to be more identification of students who are harassing other students to help them identify why they have that reaction.”

WCCB reached out to a spokesman for the girl’s family who says she will be transferring to a different school because she does not feel safe at Ardrey Kell. Her family says she will need several surgeries because of the injuries from the altercation.