A 14-year-old Sikh boy was allegedly punched and knocked down by his classmate in Washington State last week. According to reports, the teen’s father has alleged that he was targeted because of his nationality.
The teenager was attacked less than a block away from the city's Kentridge High School, The New Tribune reported. The attack was captured on video and posted on Snapchat.
The victim's father, who has refused to be identified, told KIRO-TV that he fears his son was targeted because he is a Sikh of Indian descent.
He never interacted with this guy. He didn’t even know his name, I don’t want to see this happen again with my son or anyone else. I don’t want to see this.Victim’s father
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked the Indian Embassy in the US for a report on the attack. "I have seen news reports about the beating of a Sikh boy in US. I have asked the Indian Embassy in the US to send me a report on the incident," Swaraj said in a tweet.
School officials said the attack was not religiously or racially motivated, but was instead a continuation of an earlier classroom dispute. The student who attacked the boy and the student who filmed the encounter will be appropriately punished, said Chris Loftis, communications director for the Kent School District.
Kent School District claims to be one of the most diverse in the country, with more than 27,000 students who speak 150 languages.
The attack comes in six months after a Sikh man in Kent was shot by someone yelling “Go back to your own country!” at him.
The 39-year-old victim recovered from a gunshot wound to the arm and told police he did not know the shooter.
(With inputs from PTI)
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