On Monday, Dec. 23, civil rights activists assembled in front of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in Northridge, California to demand justice for 13-year-old Sal’Vyion “Sal” Torres. Torres, who is Black, was the victim of an alleged racist attack.
He is also an eighth grade student at Ernest Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth. According to the San Fernando Sun, the violent attack happened on Dec. 6. Torres told authorities that he was helping his grandmother carry a few things from the school out to her car when he was assaulted by a white man in his mid-40s.
The man, who is also a parent at the school, allegedly called Torres a slew of racial slurs including the N-word. The teen suffered a contusion, concussion, neck sprain and closed head injury.
“He had his knee on my neck with all his weight and was just yelling the N-word at me,” Torres told the publication.
“My neck still hurts when I move it around, it’s sore. And the same thing with my knee. There’s pressure when I step on it and everything.”
A police report was filed by Torres’ parents shortly after the incident on behalf of their son. However, the alleged perpetrator has not yet been arrested. Salvador Torres, the teen’s father, claimed that his family barely received a police report number from LAPD nearly two weeks after the incident.
The Torres family also said that Ernest Lawrence Middle School has not contacted them or provided any type of counseling for their son.
The family’s attorney, Bradley C. Gage, said they are merely seeking “justice, fairness, equality,” and the person responsible who executed the attack to be held accountable.
“Everyone deserves an education. No one should be afraid to be at school. No one should be persecuted because of the color of their skin,” said Gage. “Schools, once they know of a problem, have an obligation to take action to protect these kids.”
The police department nor the school have publicly commented on the incident.