RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said the school district is investigating after a video posted and widely shared on social media allegedly showed a school employee at Fairfield Court Elementary School biting the hand of a child.
"I am aware of a disturbing video circulating on social media that shows an RPS employee apparently biting a child in their care. I am absolutely horrified by this, as superintendent and as a parent. While I cannot comment on personnel actions, I want to assure our families and the public that I simply will not tolerate any such behavior at RPS, and I’ve taken every necessary step accordingly," Kamras said.
The 58-second video, posted to the room804_ Instagram and Facebook accounts Wednesday morning, April 15, shows an adult walking outside of Fairfield Court Elementary School on Phaup Street holding the hands of two children.
Toward the end of the video, recorded from a car parked at or near the school, the adult lifts the child's hand toward her mouth.
The child can then be heard crying.
The video has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times on those platforms.
The mother of the child said in a Facebook Live video Wednesday morning that her child has autism and is nonverbal.
She said her daughter has a problem with transitioning from one task to the next and will scream and yell when she doesn't want to leave a situation.
"My daughter is the type of person that you can do something to her and she'll be right back playing like nothing ever happened. That [expletive deleted] is scary," the mother said.
She said the incident happened April 13, and she learned about it on Tuesday, April 14 and met with school leaders who told her the person in the video is no longer at the school.
Kamras did not comment on specific personnel matters related to the incident.
CBS 6 reached out to Richmond Police to ask if a complaint has been filed but have not yet heard back.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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