NJ Teen Beaten In Videotaped Attack At Ridgewood High School

A New Jersey teen was beaten in an attacked recorded by classmates, and the school district has announced that it has begun an investigation into the incident.

Students who witnessed the attack recorded the violence instead of helping the student, Ridgewood Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said. One male victim reportedly was beaten so badly that he has been hospitalized with a fractured skull.

"This week the Ridgewood High School Administration has been investigating a serious student incident that rose to the level of police involvement following a thorough, deliberate and confidential exploration of the facts," he wrote in a letter to the district. "The incident involved the misuse of social media, destruction of school property and violence."

The Ridgewood Police Department said it is currently investigating the "fights" that occurred on Stevens Field and then on Brookside Field over the weekend of Oct. 28. "If there are any witnesses that would like to come forward, please contact Det. Casson at jcasson@ridgewoodnj.net or (201) 251-4537."

The matter was disclosed in Facebook posts published by family and friends of the victims, noting that one boy was beaten and hospitalized.

"Some people have to lie about how good their kids are, or in my case how good my nephew is, I don’t have to," wrote Jason Krause on the Ridgewood Class of 1987 Facebook page. "He is a good kid. He’s a gentle soul with so much character, he’s got character to spare."

Krause then added: "Imagine if it was you when you attended RHS and a bully told you to kill yourself everyday. Imagine it is your child who is being bullied. Your child told to kill themselves. Then your child lying in the hospital with a fractured skull and face broken so badly he needs surgery to reconstruct his face."

At Ridgewood High School last week, the boy stood up for a girl who was being harassed, he said, and told to kill herself after photographs of her were passed around on social media. He then got "massively bullied" and harassed in social media, and then hospitalized for two-and-a-half days, with surgery to follow, Krause wrote.

"On Friday the thug knocks out the boy and takes a picture of him as he lay unconscious sharing it on Snapchat," he said. "The following day the same attacker goes after him again on social media with many, many, many other students joining the chorus calling him all sorts of names and challenge him to stand up for his girlfriend luring him into another fight."

"He is knocked out again, his skull is fractured and his face is broken so severely he needs to have reconstruction surgery when the swelling goes down, and he is in jeopardy of losing the sight in one of his eyes," he said. "The second time the thug beats the boy unconscious there are 50 other students there, many videoing this like sick people who barbarically gather for animal fights. And the school wrestling team is there too to support the beast, the brutal attacker."

Fishbein said it's "important to address and dispel rumors that are circulating in our community and to ask for your understanding that this issue, like all student issues that involve minors and are also part of a student’s record, is, and will remain, confidential."

"Just as we protect the privacy of your child’s record, we are compelled to do the same for all children involved in this incident," he said. "For this reason, we cannot comment on the episode or on the eventual outcome, but I do want to reassure you as both a parent and also as your superintendent, that I trust the administration to act in the best interest of all the students involved, as well as the entire school community."

He said anyone found to be involved in this incident will be held accountable "in an appropriate way, including possible legal proceedings, school discipline and/or counseling."

"At this time, I would like to also remind you that the Ridgewood High School administration is very open and transparent whenever possible," he said. "Anyone who has attended their HSA meetings would agree to their openness to discussing difficult topics and issues that the high school administrators handle."

"It is highly unfortunate that the incident -- which happened after school hours on district property -- resulted in unnecessary and unacceptable violence. It is also disappointing that other students were present who videoed the incident rather than attempted to intervene in order to prevent physical harm."

Patch file photo