Park Tudor student attacked: What his mother wants to see done in response

INDIANAPOLIS — Dionne Strong's son is a senior at Park Tudor School.

On Monday, Strong said her son was attacked by a classmate in a locker room.

"We're getting ready for prom. We're getting ready for graduation. My stress is, 'What are you going to wear for graduation and prom?'," Strong said. "I should not be stressing over someone attacking my son."

Dionne Strong

The video, which WRTV has blurred to protect the privacy of the students, shows a young man being followed behind by presumably a classmate who's recording.

The subject of the video walks into a locker room where there are at least four other students. He takes off his jacket and backpack and empties his pockets.

Without any warning, he jumps over a bench and starts pummeling Strong's son with punches. Surprised by the attack, her son defended himself the best he could without throwing any punches back.

Strong's son did not mention the attack to her.

"It hurt his pride because how could you come to your mother and say 'Hey, someone attacked me from behind in the locker and all my so-called friends recorded it and laughed about it?'," Strong said. "It's very disheartening."

After she saw the video, Strong decided police should be made aware of the incident. She filed a report and is waiting on a detective to contact her.

WRTV reached out to Park Tudor School for a comment on the matter. Park Tudor's Head of School Gareth Vaughan released the following statement on the attack.

"We are aware of an altercation that occurred on our campus; we take all incidents of this type very seriously. We are handling this incident in accordance with our school’s disciplinary policies. We are unable to comment further out of respect for the privacy of all students involved."

Despite assurances from the school, Strong is still worried for her son's safety. She hopes they'll be able to protect him from another attack.

For people who have kids, Strong thinks this is a good reminder to talk to them about how to interact and solve issues without resorting to violence.

She said the attack happened because of petty high school drama that did not warrant a physical altercation.

"I want them to be aware of their children and when they go out into this world, they need to know how to act accordingly," Strong said.