Photo: Courtesy of Sonika Kukreja
She wants justice for her son.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 18, 2022
A middle school student from Coppell, Texas, was filmed being placed in a chokehold by another classmate in the cafeteria.
As other students watched and recorded the incident on their phones, the student was harrassed and physically restrained by another boy.
The child's parents are seeking justice for their son by urging supporters to sign their petition to “protect the victim.”
The child’s mother shared the video of her son being choked by a bully, calling out her son's school.
“I cannot comprehend that my son who is being choked and bullied is [the] one who gets 3 day ISS???” Sonika Kukreja posts on Facebook, referring to the 3-day In-School Suspension (ISS) her son received.
“The School authorities refuse to take the matter with a sense of urgency and have not handled the situation well!”
She mentions the middle school by name, Coppell Middle School North, and later reveals that the aggressor merely received a 1-day suspension.
In the Change.org petition started by Kukreja herself, she writes that the school informed her that her 14-year-old son, Shaan Pritmani, was at fault for the altercation, which is why he received the heavier punishment.
“Shaan's friends shared the video of the assault with parents and reached out to inform them that Shaan wasn't at fault,” she wrote.
After giving the video evidence over to the school and asking for them to reassess the punishment, however, the school replied by saying that they had seen the video and were not going to change their course of action.
After several attempts to file complaints, both with the Coppell Police Department and Coppell School District’s School Resources Officer, the parents were refused on the grounds that there had been too many bullying complaints recently.
Coppell Middle School North is now receiving backlash from outraged parents.
Other videos of the moments leading up to the incident have been shared to raise awareness.
In the video, the alleged bully is attempting to wrestle away Pritmani’s phone from his hands, before failing and repeatedly telling him to move from the seat that he is sitting on at the lunch table in the cafeteria.
The bully tries to say that no one wants him there, asks others if they want him there, and tells Pritmani that no one likes him, all while Pritmani remains steadfast in his seat.
After moving his tray of food to another table and failing to move his backpack which Pritmani fastened onto his back, the bully decides to get even more physical and puts the 14-year-old boy in a chokehold.
“Shaan's aggressor in the video is on the wrestling team and can be seen carrying out a very dangerous carotid restraint on Shaan's neck,” writes Kukreja.
In the video, you can see the bully perform a snapping motion while pulling Pritmani off of the seat.
“It’s heartbreaking, I cried. I couldn’t sleep,” said Kukreja. “His neck could’ve snapped, I wouldn’t have my son.”
With the goal of 300,000 signatures all asking for the removal of the student from the school so Pritmani would “never have to take a class, interact, or pass the hallways with this aggressor ever again,” Kukreja has reached more than 240,000.
“Our goal is to bring awareness to the bullying and assault problem in schools everywhere,” she writes. “Serious repercussions need to be in place for all violence against our children. This type of aggression needs to stop!”
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.