DETROIT – Parents of a seventh grade Detroit student claim a teacher stood by and watched while another student attacked the boy over a pencil.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District released a statement saying a preliminary investigation showed "the teacher restrained the dominant student while the other student was removed from the classroom."
Wallace Worthey, 12, suffered a broken nose, fractured eye and bruising and swelling after a classmate attacked him at Pulaski Elementary-Middle School on the city's east side.
"He punched me around seven to eight times," Wallace Worthey said. "I saw blood dripping over my nose and I just heard other students yelling, 'He broke his eye, he broke his eye. Oh my God.'"
His mother, Shelley Worthey, said the school didn't take her son to a hospital. Instead, she received a call about what happened.
"What took you so long to stop the fight? Why does he look like this?" she said.
Wallace Worthey's parents want the child who attacked their son expelled and prosecuted. They also want the school district to take action against the teacher.
"The only way the fight was stopped was because the teacher next door heard the ruckus and came in and broke it up," said Mel Stroke, Wallace Worthey's father.
Read the full statement from the district below:
"Two students were involved in a verbal exchange that resulted in a fight at Pulaski Elementary Middle School yesterday. According to a preliminary investigation, the teacher restrained the dominant student while the other student was removed from the classroom. The school officials contacted parents and administered first aid to the injured student and recommended additional medical attention when the mother arrived to the school. A disciplinary hearing will be scheduled to determine consequences."