One Mississippi mom is demanding answers after she went to pick up her daughter from elementary school late last month, only to find the child’s face swollen and bruised “beyond recognition,” the Huffington Post reports.
Lacey Harris, the mother of AvaLynn, says that the child told her another student kicked her repeatedly in the face until she fell off the slide on the Arlington Elementary School’s playground in Pascagoula, Miss., according to a Facebook page called Justice for AvaLynn.
The information on the Facebook page also indicates that the school told Harris no teachers were present at the time of the incident and “no one could prove whether or not another student had harmed Ava.”
According to HuffPost, the Pascagoula School District released a statement insinuating that AvaLynn somehow injured herself and stating that no other students were involved.
“A student was injured while playing on the playground at Arlington Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. School officials responded to the situation. The parent was contacted and the student received medical treatment. No other children were involved in the incident. The Pascagoula School District remains committed to the safety of all its students,” the statement read, according to HuffPost.
Harris has filed a police report, but authorities are saying that, at least for the moment, there’s nothing about the situation that points toward a crime.
“The mother alleges another child kicked her child on the slide,” police Lt. Jim Roe told GulfLive.com. “Right now there’s no indication something criminal took place. I have spoken with school security, and an assistant superintendent is investigating the matter."
Roe did also say, however, that there was no active investigation by authorities into the matter.
The Root has reached out to the Pascagoula Police Department seeking further comment on the case.
Read more at the Huffington Post and GulfLive.