Racist Belleville West High School Bus Beating Caught On Tape

by Tina Kells | September 15, 2009 at 10:38 am

13462 views | 24 Recommendations | 159 comments

A brutal school bus beating that police say may be racially motivated was caught on video and the footage is now circulating on the web. A white student at Belleville West High School was subjected to not one, but two vicious beatings by two of his African-American peers and the entire assault was captured on surveillance video.

The video begins with the Belleville West High School student, aged 17, trying to find a seat on the bus. Every time he tries to sit down he is deterred by other kids on the bus until the driver finally gives them no choice.

The white boy moves a bag off a seat and sits only to be brutally assaulted by two other students who were encouraged to escalate the attack by other kids on the bus. Based on the way the boy was treated leading up to the attack and the manner in which two African-American students ganged up on him police have suggested racism was a likely motivator.

See the disturbing video footage of the Belleville West High school bus beating (WARNING: The video is very graphic)

"Pretty soon the kid he sat next to is pushing him, trying to push him out of the seat and the next thing you know he starts punching him and choking him and punching him some more," says Sax. "It's ridiculous."

The victim took at least 15 blows in about 15 seconds. The surveillance video shows the kids on board kept laughing; one even used his cell phone to take a photo of the victim's bloodied face.

"There was a lot of egging on," says Sax.

Four minutes after the first attack, came a second one at the hands of another classmate. This time the victim was punched and slapped at least eight more times, until one boy broke them apart.

"There were a couple students who did kind of step up to the plate and finally break it up," says Sax. "Especially one in the end kept pushing the second person away because he looked like he was going to keep going in to fight more."

Sax says the two suspects are 14 and 15. They are African American. The victim is white.

"There's a strong suspicion that it was race related," says Sax.

According to the Belleville West High School website the school's motto is "Where Your Character Counts," but the behavior of these two students and those who encouraged them begs the question "Where you character counts for what?" Not a single student on that bus showed an iota of character when a peer was under attack, and none treated him with a single bit of basic compassion and decency in the moments before.

The Character Ed Program at Belleville West High School critically attacks the world and describes an ideal that students on the school bus the day of the beating miserably failed to live up to. Written by Sanford N. McDonnell, Chairman Emeritus of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, the page talks about corruption in the world today and how Belleville strives to work with students to promote "good character in our young just as emphatically as we have been focusing on higher math and science test scores."

Judging from the behavior of the two Belleville West High School students who assaulted their peer and the many who egged them on, there is still some serious character development needed by the student body at that school. Those Belleville West High School have most definitely failed to live up to the school motto and more importantly, they have failed to grasp the most basic elements of humanity.

Day after day we are bombarded with stories of dishonest corporate leaders, corrupt politicians, and sports stars using drugs. Indeed every sector of our society is confronted by a crisis of character, most tragically among young people who are plagued with problems of drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, bullying, and racism.

With all these character related problems, why aren’t the presidential candidates speaking out on the subject? And why hasn’t it been on the agenda in their debates? And why aren’t the American people demanding that schools do more to help our young acquire good character as well as academic knowledge?

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Roy C

at 11:13 on September 15th, 2009

In Seattle, my friend who graduated from their school system, told me that the teachers "taught" him that "blacks were incapable of racism because they don't have institutional control".

Anyone with any sense, from Malcolm X and MLK to today's protesters, would find such statements to be the ultimate folly of compulsives of the left using their complexes to rationalize their incapacity to see what we all know: that racism exists on both sides and begins with character or its lack.

Now, depending on what the "hate crime" laws are there, those kids will face extra-severe punishment for their racist attack, beyond what would have been had the attack been purely personal or a robbery.

Rory Cripps

at 18:45 on September 15th, 2009

Roy: Yeah . . .a lot of rationalizing going on nowadays. On the face of it this seems to a be a racist attack pure and simple, because there was only one white kid on the bus. How come there was only one white kid on the bus anyway and why was he singled out for this vicious and cowardly attack? Isn't this in and of itself racist? I think that all ethnic groups should be represented equally on school buses and his attackers should be charged with a "hate crime" no matter what transpired.

openedeyes (not verified)

at 21:31 on September 16th, 2009

look a little closer on the video . . . there's more than one white kid on the bus and actually there is a white kid standing up in the back sitting back and watching the fight happen. not helping at all. if you think the fact that this is a racist event just because he's the "only white kid on the bus" you are terribly in the wrong. the opposite of this happens everyday around the country, and especially around the st. louis area. what's the matter with this is way beyond black and white, and if that's all you can see then you yourself are part of the problem. the focus of this conversation should be why kids are acting this way, are parents setting a good example, etc. the focus should not be how many of what race rides which bus.

openyourowneyes (not verified)

at 13:46 on October 7th, 2009

what would be said if there were all white students and one black student.... how would that be classified? i would have to say, "hate crime." regardless of color, those kids acted wrongly and should have the "full" book thrown at them, but i doubt they will.

roderick57 (not verified)

at 01:03 on September 16th, 2009

It looks like as pure a racial attack as I've everr seen. Everyone on that bus should be either charged or suspended including the driver. I heard that the pussy assed cops are "considering charges". Way to go cops. Be part of the problem. After all.... they're black...they have a right to beat on whites right? Well they all looked like a bunch of wild and savage animals to me. When I encounter a wild and dangerous animal, I usually shoot it.

FRED B. (not verified)

at 12:25 on September 17th, 2009

It is as clear as Day, when the Second kid threw gang signs after his turn on this poor kid it is a HATE CRIME...This System is a mess...Parents are most of the blame...One may do their job as a parent but if the majorities aren’t, then it defeats the purpose if something like this happens to one’s Child. This will be a beginning of hate towards other Humans and ruins lives of everyone involved of this Boy’s life. Bottom line is We Parents, in this Nation, are failing! All Media are raising our Children! Electronics, “Yes things we plug into a Wall”, are teaching our kids…With technology, anything is possible for kids (who don’t know better), until it comes to life and breaking a real life law… Now tell me; what kid is going to learn discipline from a machine? We have improved as a society, but not to completely bring to an end of stupidity. We need to see it as a change; that the kid wasn’t hung, stoned to death, or publicly murdered, as American History and World History has it written. Racism...It's a deep Tree root that is in Nation's Foundation that is Cracking every day, as the ignorance grows...It was planted by our settler's (Europeans) starting racism with the American Indians our Real Founding Fathers of this Country took their Lives and Land, then took Africans out of their Land to cultivate the fields, and took it too far so it had to be abolished for the inhumanity toward the African slaves. I live in a diverse State, and during my life I've been in different parts of the state, I've lived areas where Blacks are to live across the tracks no exceptions, and whites live in town or in Country Clubs...I've also lived where Hispanics, not the Mexico Immigrants but AMERICANS, are the Majority but have Gang related issues with Killing themselves, no racial tension but amongst their own lack of common sense...and Now currently live where the Blacks are the Majority so feel that they can do whatever they want and treat anyone else of different color as the Europeans in the beginning of this Nation... Racism will never be resolved! It is part of Human World History to differentiate between others that look different, different beliefs, or part of another area to cause Genocides, we are no different than Egyptians/Israelites, Germans/Jews, Palestinians/Israelis, Tutsis/Hutu of Rwanda, and we have a History of a Civil War that was fueled by the same reasons...We haven’t killed Thousands for this IGNORANCE in recent history. Slavery, Racial Wars, Civil Wars have claimed many Lives in this Nation and will always be part of our history. What are you going to do to change what your kids believe?

Concerned Citizen (not verified)

at 19:02 on September 17th, 2009

"It was planted by our settler's (Europeans) starting racism with the American Indians our Real Founding Fathers of this Country took their Lives and Land, then took Africans out of their Land to cultivate the fields, and took it too far so it had to be abolished for the inhumanity toward the African slaves"Are you serious...? Racism goes way way way further back in history. Do you really think that racism was invented by our European settlers? That's absurd. Racism has existed since the human population began to diversify genetically and culturally (practically immediately).(I'm hoping I just read your comment wrong)

Fred B. (not verified)

at 04:58 on September 18th, 2009

Never said it was invented by the Europeans...That is absurd! My anciestors are Europeans, so I didn't mean it as you read. My point was, when this Nation was Started, the seed was planted, and Will never change because we are a melting pot...And what can anyone do to make a change? Answer that?

1776blues (not verified)

at 16:04 on September 19th, 2009

You time line of history is a bit off as is your claim the founding fathers took the native Indians land and lives. I believe that happened on a larger scale when the push west started in the 19th century. So when you say real founding fathers, who do you mean? Washington, Franklin, Madison, Jefferson?The Forgotten Slaves: Whites in Servitude in Early America and Industrial Britainwww.revisionisthistory.org/forgottenslaves.htmlWhen White servitude is acknowledged as having existed in America, it is almost always termed as temporary "indentured servitude" or part of the convict trade, which, after the Revolution of 1776, centered on Australia instead of America. The "convicts" transported to America under the 1723 Waltham Act, perhaps numbered 100,000. The indentured servants who served a tidy little period of 4 to 7 years polishing the master's silver and china and then taking their place in colonial high society, were a minuscule fraction of the great unsung hundreds of thousands of White slaves who were worked to death in this country from the early l7th century onward. Up to one-half of all the arrivals in the American colonies were Whites slaves and they were America's first slaves. These Whites were slaves for life, long before Blacks ever were. This slavery was even hereditary. White children born to White slaves were enslaved too. Whites were auctioned on the block with children sold and separated from their parents and wives sold and separated from their husbands. Free Black property owners strutted the streets of northern and southern American cities while White slaves were worked to death in the sugar mills of Barbados and Jamaica and the plantations of Virginia.I admit there were a lot of screwed up things that happened, but as even a black friend mine said in defense of that era; different times! so how does this equate with what happened on this bus?You want a real cause; the Government and race organizations do more to divide the people today than to unit; why? They do not want us to unite then we would all realize they don't give a dam about us. Then check into fluoridated water, mercury and other toxins that have dumbed down the youth of today!

bartow irby (not verified)

at 13:52 on September 20th, 2009

right on brother

Why??? (not verified)

at 08:36 on September 18th, 2009

Why hasn’t this story received national attention from the media? I can't find it on CNN or any of the national news sites. My sympathy goes out to this poor child. I hope those savage creatures get what they deserve. And no I'm not a racist.

learntoswim (not verified)

at 08:51 on September 18th, 2009

“Students Punished" ??? www.fox2now.com/ktvi-belleville-student-beaten-bus-091509,0,4499131.story

Beuit (not verified)

at 10:59 on October 13th, 2009

The parent of the black kids will beg and plead that "they didn't mean no harm. They had this and this happen to em groin up". And the well intentioned white parents will seek to avoid the hate crime charge.Whites need to toughen up. They need to be on the giving end instead of the receiving every now and then. Hate laws, rhetoric will not help you. They are not like us and never will be.

robert staack (not verified)

at 13:23 on September 15th, 2009

I will give the kid that got beatup a free gym membership as long as hes in high school . fitness zone 24 in o'fallon il. ask for rob

Brittni O (not verified)

at 15:29 on September 15th, 2009

This is one of the most awful things I've ever seen happen around here. It digusts me to think that something like this would occur so close to where I live. The video brought tears to my eyes when I saw that poor kid getting beat on for no reason whatsoever. I hope every kid on that bus is suspended for not helping out their peer and fellow human being in any way, and as for those boys who beat him, they deserve to be in prison. People who do things like that to other human beings will more than likely end up there anyway, so they should just nip that bud in the head. What is wrong with them? As said in the article, they seriously need to reevaulate their school motto and teach those kids some true, moral character. As for the kid who got beat on, way to go. He might have saved his own life by not trying to fight back, who knows, if he would have the whole bus might have got in on it. I would say he's the only one who's going to come out on top of this entire situation.

lounsbury

at 09:16 on September 17th, 2009

You wouldn't happen to be Brittni B., would you?

shadow81 (not verified)

at 16:15 on September 15th, 2009

This is obviously a hate crime: two black student violently beat a white student so badly that his glasses cut into the flesh on his face. The bus driver did nothing not even pull over to help split the fight up to assist a powerless victim. What would Rosa Parks say about these black boys not allowing a white boy a seat? All her hard work for equality and what has it gotten her NOTHING, because now black students on a primarily black bus wouldn't allow a white boy when told he had to sit down a seat next to them. Not to mention the fact the many other black students watching and cheering the beating on and TAKING PICTURES WITH THEIR CELL PHONES of the beaten/victimized student. If this would have been a black student it would have instantly been deemed a hate crime but due to the fact that the boy is white people are hesitant to label it what it is and take action because it may be too controversial and someone may say that their punishment is too severe and it's only being done because of THEIR race; what will it take for people to see past race and look at the events and judge from there. This is outrageous and despicable. Again I state, ROSA PARKS IS ROLLING OVER IN HER GRAVE WITH DISAPPOINTMENT AND SHAME. I am ashamed of them and disgusted.

Grace H

at 19:09 on September 15th, 2009

Pics on cell phones happen during all school fights. Others are hesitant to break it up because in doing so you particpated and therefore are eligible for suspension or expulsion.

The driver could not have done much. Outnumbered by far. The only people at school who can usually break up fights are administrators and security personel. Why-- because they cannot be sued whereas teachers and other figures can.

Fights happen often for the most repulsive and regrettable of reasons. The only people culpable however in this case, are the two who handed out the beating. The other students should not be punished nor should the driver.

I do not understand this. Maybe i miss-read it but, the victim was 17? and his attackers 14? and 15?. I do not see how they could have hurt the kid so badly. Theres a serious physical discrepancy here both in terms of size and strength. I do not understand this...

Jim j (not verified)

at 09:46 on September 16th, 2009

You have to be one of the dumbest racists ever. Maybe it was the illegal brass knuckles and all the drugs the black kids were on that caused the adrenaline rush to beat ass. How's that a reason for you? Retard!

Grace H

at 14:10 on September 16th, 2009

One, dumbass I am white so not rascist. Two, pot kettle black much becasue what you said is in no way stereotypical or rascist. You are sickening.

Don O (not verified)

at 10:19 on September 17th, 2009

Some 14 yr olds and 15 yr olds are just as big as 17 yr olds. I know -- my kid is 15 and not big in s school at old. My 12 yr old is almost as big as him. Age as nothing to do with anything we talking about size, esp. when dealing with different races. Matter of fact most 14 - 15 year olds are bigger than I am. As for the white kid to fight back, give me a break, he does that then all of the blacks will jump in. We all now that. If this was a black kid getting beat up they (the media) would be calling this a hate crime for sure. As for the bus driver not being able to help (he is older and bigger) -- he could of stopped the bus and put a end to it without force. I think it was rasically motivated -- all the black kids had a seat and this one kids was not allowed to sit down.

ShariA (not verified)

at 10:25 on September 16th, 2009

That could possibly be the most ignorant thing I have ever heard. I would like to put you on a bus full of 14-15 year old thugs. Face the facts, the poor white kid didn't stand a chance and no one will say anything because he was white. Where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton protecting the civil rights of this kid?

Grace H

at 14:13 on September 16th, 2009

Not really. I could walk down the halls of my school to achieve the same effect. I do not know a single one of my seventeen and eighteen years old friends (the majority of whom are white) that ever got there ass kicked by any litttle kid or even multiple little kids. You ever been in a fight? Size and age are a huge advantage.

makes no sense (not verified)

at 08:28 on September 25th, 2009

What..?? Are you serious? You don't understand how he got beat up just because he was older? What about the fact that he was a minority in this situation. Just because the boy who got beat up with older, doesn't mean a thing! Maybe he knew and was taught better than to resolve difference with physical violence...think maybe he was a little scared too? How many days was this poor boy tormented before this finally happened? Such a shame that such an outrageous crime happened and your thoughts are on how an older kid could get beat up....and I agree that all the students who watched and cheered on should be penalized as well. Not as severly as the boys throwing punches, but lessons need to be taught to all that this type of treatment to anyone, black or white, is unacceptable. The bus driver, if in fact he didn't pull over immediately and intervene should be fired. Who is in charge of our kids? If there are on school transportation, then the school should be liable for the care of our kids while enroute. For Gods sake, they are only trying to go to school. My prayers and sympathys to the boy and his family.

get a clue (not verified)

at 08:40 on September 25th, 2009

To Grace H: You are kidding aren't you? Get a clue....size and age don't matter much when you're a scared targeted minority of one. Did you see the video?? The child getting beaten up isn't a big kid...regardless of his age. I've seen 14 year olds bigger than me and I'm an adult! A scared boy trying to survive doesn't stand a chance when being attacked. My thoughts and prayers go out to the boy, his family and the community members that care. All else should be punished to the fullest extent of the law; all the kids on the bus ranting the beating on and the bus driver who did nothing. Prosecute them all.

Guess (not verified)

at 12:22 on November 1st, 2009

If I were a betting man I would say Grace is a far left wing bigot! She does not realize that the system is creating a monster and I would almost say it is a conspiracy. Our kids are being dumbed down, taught they came from apes, give them condoms, took prayer out of school, teach violence with video games and movies, etc. Oh yes and the hate crime bill I fear will only make things much worse. It will divide us all even further. Get a clue Lefty Grace, the lefty libs will destroy us all including you. Have a nice day

Homeland Security Law Enforcement Instructor (not verified)

at 11:15 on September 16th, 2009

Dear Grace:It is tempting to deride your cluelessness, but is more fair to assume you've been lucky enough to live in the Starship Enterprise your entire life. First, failure to provide aid to someone in dire need assuredly constitutes a state of moral degradation; legally, the boy would have potential grounds against the students who failed to act, and absolutely solid grounds against the driver, who - if we are to assume - is over the age of 21, making him an adult. If the driver's black, he would be nearly as culpable, especially after the first attack, as the two gutless dirtbags who attacked the defenseless boy (note: a BUS-FULL of enablers plus two predators translates into a defenseless single victim). Where your naivete is most glaringly apparent, however, is your lack of "understanding" regarding physical size: 1) A busload of bigots vs. one kid, so physical size is IRREVELANT; 2) Have you checked out the human beings around you lately? There are, literally, MILLIONS of examples of physical size differences - you seriously find it difficult to comprehend, or "understand", that a 14- or 15-year old kid can't be larger, maybe much larger, than a 17-year old? Sounds like it is really true: not only has education been dumbed-down (most master's degree'd people don't have the verbal and written skills of high schoolers of 50 years ago), but simple powers of observation, logic, and argumentation are also in serious devolution (please note that our metrosexual president can't articulate clearly or smoothly away from the old teleprompter).You seem a good person, Grace, as it is obvious you wish to understand - they hurt the kid badly due to following the credo of ALL bullies and bigots: don't fight unless you have a HUGE advantage in SIZE, STRENGTH, NUMBERS, ANIMOSITY/RACISM, WEAPONS, BACK-UP (that'd be the other cowards on the bus), and ENVIRONMENT (as in YOUR neighborhood, or attacking where the victim has NO WHERE TO RUN OR HIDE). Got it? It might save your life one day. PS: I agree with the comment above that mentions shooting: IF you know you are in danger, strike FIRST or get the hell out. In this case, the boy had no chance - oh, and check out the Bureau of Justice Statistics and other crime-counting websites: BLACKS constitute the most racist (race-on-race crime) perpetrators in the country; Latinos are now challenging them, but only because of illegal alien gangs. In fact, NO ONE in this country should fall for the now long-outdated "blacks can't be racist...poor little me...whites are bigots" bullshit any more - the EXPIRATION DATE on that particular manipulation is long passed, as has any legitimacy of affirmative action. Having been a civil rights worker (as well as inner-city teacher, cop, gang counselor, terrorism analyst, martial arts instructor, etc), I would never advocate use of the so-called "N" word - they are just "BLIGOTS" - BLACK BIGOTS, and they are as cowardly as any KKK, Mexican Mafia, Yakuza, or any other group of bigots. I hope the kid and his family sue everyone concerned, including the f*ing school district. Also, all you non-black folks - get armed, learn to shoot, be physically fit, learn to defend yourself, and never take your eyes off a bigot. The kid on the bus may, indeed, have been beaten worse if he had fought, but if he had known how to cover up, could have minimized his injuries...like all thugs, these punks can't fight worth a damn, and don't like to get hit.

learntoswim (not verified)

at 12:05 on September 16th, 2009

BLIGOTS! Excellent!

ridiculous (not verified)

at 21:58 on September 16th, 2009

hi homeland security law enforcement, your comment shows one lacking in maturity, legal knowledge, intellect and some common sense. and most importantly, as someone who tries the quote the law . . .you have failed. miserably. moral degradation, not a punishable crime in and of itself. you cannot be arrested and charged with a criminal offense for "moral degradation". if the victim wanted to bring a suit for the wrongs done to him, then we're talking about a whole other class of law. also, please look up what the legal age is to charge someone as an adult . . . far before 21 and even as early as 14 for some crimes. so once again, the point you try to make is moot because it is based in fact that are NOT legally relevant, and beyond that just plain out wrong. before you write some long, well thought out response i have a few pointers. Point 1: don't state facts that are incorrect and especially do not misquote law. you loose many competent readers who may have actually read your post and your argument has no weight. Point 2: making up words and calling people names does nothing. didn't your mother teach you . . . well if she didn't, let me clue you in. name calling is ridiculous, childish, and for the birds. if you want someone to hear you out, calling people names and derogatory terms is not winning you any points, it's actually making you look more uneducated on what your talking about. adding more to my first point. Point 3: I did a quick search on your "research" on "race-on-race" crimes and didn't find the results you got. when doing any type of "research", albeit academic or for pure editorials like the one you have written above, it is important to do true research. not research that is skewed to favor the party in which you choose to represent, yet research that proves your parties innocence and the other parties guilt. by phrases like "non-black get armed and ready to defend", i'm guessing that your research started and ended with a phrase in google that read something like this "how can i prove that blacks are always violent and should be shot and called "bligots". Point 4: education has not been dumbed down around the country, maybe that's your point of view because you have not chosen to educate yourself on what's really going on where you are now (micro) and the bigger representative picture (macro). Point 5: just because the President doesn't wear wrangler jeans and a cowboy hat nor looks the way that you want him to doesn't makes him "metrosexual". once again, going back to Point 3, thorough research would prevent you from making this mistake in an editorial again. Overall, Mr./Ms. Homeland, you should not try to quote any sort of legal rhetoric that would suggest you have any clue of what you are talking about. Stick with what you understand: name calling, belittling, and furthering the race relation problem in our country. Let others who care to really dig deep and understand the matter analyze what's going on.