BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Two California teenagers were arrested after allegedly bullying a middle school student in a video that’s been circulating on social media.
The video shows the teens and the victim, identified by his family as Carter Lashaul, standing in a driveway in a Bakersfield neighborhood Monday.
“Get down on the floor and lick that (expletive),” one of the teens said in the video. Lashaul was then allegedly forced to lick the bottom of one of their shoes.
Adina Alaniz, whose home security cameras recorded the incident, rushed outside to help Lashaul as he sobbed. “Are you okay?” she asked him in the video.
Alaniz told NewsNation affiliate KGET that by the time she ran outside, the incident was over.
“I thought I had got out there fast enough to prevent it, but turns out it had already happened,” she said. “I can only imagine what he felt in that moment.”
Lashaul’s grandmother, Bobbie Moorehead, said her grandson will no longer walk home.
“Look what they did to him. How are you going to make someone lick your feet? Why would you do something like that? That’s not right,” she told KGET.
The suspects, ages 14 and 15, were booked into a juvenile hall on suspicion of battery, false imprisonment and conspiracy. Police did not release their names since they are minors.
Both of the teens reportedly attend Golden Valley High School, which is part of the Kern High School District. The district released a statement Tuesday calling the video “deeply disturbing.”
“We stand firmly against such behavior and do not tolerate bullying,” the statement reads. “We are actively investigating this matter and are working closely with the Bakersfield Police Department and Kern High School District Police to address it appropriately.”
Also on Tuesday, students and parents held a rally on the high school campus in support of Lashaul, who attends Leon H. Ollivier Middle School.
“There should be no bullying allowed, no violence,” said rallygoer Persaias Hollinquest. “There should be no reason to belittle a person when we’re all humans at the end of the day.”
The Greenfield Union School District, which oversees Leon H. Ollivier, said it has also “initiated an investigation into the incident.”
“We would like to encourage families at this time to have a conversation with their students about anti-bullying,” the Greenfield Union School District said in a statement. “School safety is a shared responsibility.”
