SUFFOLK, Va. - Morgan Robinson, 11, is trying to move forward but she says what happened to her at school last week keeps replaying in her head. The nightmares keep her up.
“I was just sitting there in my room terrified,” she said.
Sixth grader Morgan Robinson said she was outside in gym class with several other students last Thursday, Oct. 7 at King’s Fork Middle School in Suffolk when out of nowhere another girl started attacking her.
“My mind was telling me to get up, get up but I couldn’t get up because she was so heavy,” she said.
Morgan’s mom Shareka Robinson saw a video of the alleged attack circulating on social media.
“I could tell my little girl was scared,” said Shareka Robinson. “She’s never been in a fight in her life. She’s not a fighter. That’s just not her personality.”
As a parent, she said the video was hard to watch.
“I’ve always protected my little girl,” Shareka Robinson said. “In that one moment, I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t be there.”
Shareka Robinson said the other student, who Morgan doesn’t even know, threw her around by her hair leaving behind bald spots. She said the girl repeatedly punched Morgan in the head and then stomped on her face.
“I didn’t know what to do,” said Morgan Robinson.
Shareka Robinson said she took her daughter to the hospital that day with a black eye, swollen face, and cuts and bruises on her head.
She remembers seeing her daughter for the first time when she picked her up from school that day after the fight.
“I just instantly started crying; I lost it,” said Shareka Robinson. “My baby’s face was torn all to pieces. She had grass all over her face. Her clothes were tore up and I could tell she was traumatized.”
According to Shareka Robinson, the school never called her to let her know about the fight and she said while it was happening, none of the four teachers nearby tried to stop it.
“Morgan said the little girl beat her until she got tired of beating her,” she said. “Nobody broke up the fight.”
She now wants answers.
“Where were the adults? Why wasn’t my child protected on school grounds?” Shareka Robinson said. “What if she would have killed my child?”
Suffolk schools is remaining tight-lipped on the details as police continue to investigate the incident.
A spokesperson for the schools said teachers are supposed to help stop fights as long as it doesn’t put them in danger. If they can’t do that, they’re expected to call for help.
In a statement, spokesperson Anthonette Ward said, "If students are engaging in a fight or an altercation, the first expectation is for the teacher to give a verbal warning. If the verbal warning is ignored and the students are still fighting, the teacher can assess the situation. If they are comfortable with intervening, they can do so. If not, the second expectation is for the teacher to call for assistance."
“The expectations of all students is to be safe, responsible and respectful," Ward added. "We work to provide intervention and restorative practices to teach students to steer their aggressions elsewhere. Suffolk Public Schools’ intent is to change student behavior; however, consequences and/or more intense interventions may be imposed due to safety or repeated offenses."
Shareka Robinson said she’s disappointed in how the school handled things that day and will continue to seek the truth.
“I’m going to fight for my daughter,” she said. “I’m not giving up.”
Before the fight last week, Morgan Robinson said some girls at school were bullying her. She claims they were calling her names and pushing her in the hallways. She said teachers knew about it and didn’t do anything.
“(I) got picked on, saying your mom doesn’t take good care of you, that’s why you ugly and stuff. That I stink,” Morgan Robinson said.
She now has a message for bullies.
“I want them to stop bullying people because it’s not funny, because you be shared all over on social media,” said Morgan Robinson. “I hated when was I all over social media.”
Morgan Robinson’s mother said both girls have been suspended for five days. Shareka Robinson said she’s now seeing if her daughter can learn virtually because she doesn’t want to go back to school.
While some of the deep bruises on Morgan Robinson’s face and head are now healing, the emotional scars remain. Shareka Robinson said she also plans to have her daughter speak with a counselor about the trauma.
