7 New Jersey Students Suspended After Video Shows Attack On Transgender Classmate

Seven New Jersey high school students were suspended in the wake of an attack on one of their transgender classmates, according to school officials.

Last week Kylie Perez, 14, was kicked and punched by several fellow students as she walked down the hall of East Side High School in Newark, New Jersey.

One student yelled, “There’s a tranny.” Some of the students filmed it instead of trying to stop it and were also suspended, according to Vice Principal of Culture and Climate Carlos Rodriguez.

“It just makes me very angry and hurt that my daughter had to experience something like that in this day in age especially,” Perez’s mother, Lillian Richards, told NJ.com.

Perez, Richards, school officials and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka met Monday to figure out a way to move forward.

“I join the LGBTQI community as well as the parents, students, and citizens of Newark who are appalled by the recent bullying and vicious attack on fourteen-year-old Kylie Perez, a transgender student, at East Side High School,” said the mayor in a statement last week. “This act was particularly egregious because the victim is a young teen whose attackers assailed her without warning.”

Perez wanted to use the incident as a rallying call.

“I'm not going let it fade away,” said Perez to NBC. “I'm going to make sure that people know that trans lives, every life, matters.”

The school system released a statement condemning the violence.

“The Newark Public Schools and School Board stand with our LGBTQ students and staff, and the entire Newark Community, in condemning the heinous and discriminatory acts that occurred at East Side High School last week,” the district said.

The district said they will dedicate staff to training the school system in awareness of LGBTQI student needs and protection. Statewide schools are participating in “week of respect,” with lessons offered in anti-bullying. October is anti-bullying month.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident and has not yet made a decision on whether any student will be charged.

“I'm sorry this happened, but it gives us an opportunity to address what we need to address,” Baraka said after the meeting Monday.