Cape Breton middle school student speaks out after violent attack caught on camera

N.S. student speaks out on violent school incident A student in Nova Scotia is speaking out after a violent incident caught on camera outside her school.

It's a video that's difficult to watch, and for 11-year-old Raven MacLean it was an experience that was even more disturbing.

"He threw me on the ground and kind of stomped on my head,” the Grade 6 student said.

The attack happened Wednesday outside Malcolm Munroe Memorial Middle School in Sydney River, N.S.

MacLean says she was targeted because she is transgender.

"All that's going through my mind is how scared I am, and how humiliated I am, because this is in front of like almost every other kid in my grade,” MacLean said of the incident, which was captured on smartphone video by other students.

MacLean’s mother, Caitlin Howell, feels the attack on her daughter hasn't been taken seriously enough by school staff, adding she hasn’t been able to bring herself to watch the video.

She says she met with a school official, but only learned of the severity of what happened after someone else brought the video to her attention.

"They just didn't seem to want to take action on it,” Howell said. “They seemed to want to hide it more than anything."

In an e-mailed statement to CTV News Atlantic, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education said the incident is being addressed.

Communications and public relations manager Heather Calder explained in part, "We can confirm administrators are responding to the unacceptable behaviour in accordance with the Provincial School Code of Conduct Policy."

The family contacted Cape Breton Regional Police about the incident, who confirmed to CTV they are investigating.

Though she escaped serious injury, MacLean and her mother said she won't be returning to the school.

"I just don't want to go back there anymore, and now I'm going to become homeschooled,” MacLean said. “I’m just scared now, and just really sad that this happened."

Meanwhile, other parents concerned about the incident have created an online petition asking the school for a town hall meeting to address bullying behaviours.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.