Video of attack at Gaston County school goes viral. What district says happened next

A video of a Gaston County Schools student hitting a classmate is going viral online, and the district says it took disciplinary action after the incident.

The video posted Wednesday depicts a student at Ashbrook High School swinging and hitting another student in the back of the head and neck area, before getting up and continuing to throw punches. The victim falls out of his seat and to the ground while guarding his head and crying loudly.

Gaston County Schools confirmed the incident took place Tuesday, that it was aware of the video and informed parents of students involved.

“The school takes this incident seriously; this type of behavior cannot be tolerated at school,” a GCS spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer in an email. “The school investigated the incident, met with the students’ parents, followed its discipline guidelines, and involved the school resource officer/law enforcement. “

The spokesperson said the district can not share or confirm information about the students involved or disciplinary actions taken due student privacy concerns.

The video has been shared by several popular right-wing accounts on X, including Libs of Tiktok, which has 4.3 million followers. There, the video has received more than 6 million views. On a Facebook account called Gaston County Scanner Radio, the video has received more than 317,000 views.

It was also shared by Michele Morrow, who ran as the Republican nominee for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction in November.

“How many children and staff have to be physically harmed before we press charges and STOP allowing violence and chaos in our classrooms?!” she posted Wednesday on X.

The Gaston County Police Department announced Thursday afternoon it investigated the incident and referred it to the NC Department of Juvenile Justice.

“The Gaston County Police takes all incidents of school violence seriously. The full investigation was turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to obtain petitions,” a spokesperson for the department said in a news release.

A petition starts a formal court case against a juvenile.

Reports of student misconduct increased around the country after the COVID-19 pandemic, but data show violence and crime rates in NC public schools decreased by 7.7% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Around 77% of public schools in the state reported zero to five acts of school violence last school year. However, instances of assault on school personnel increased between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.