A 14-year-old student at Defiance Middle School in Defiance, Ohio has opened up about a brutal attack he suffered for carrying a pride flag at school.
Video of the incident has gone viral on Snapchat and Facebook, which prompted Tristen Torrez, an openly gay student, to go public with his story.
“I was wearing it to state a message, and state just because one person is who they are, proud of who they are, doesn’t mean others shouldn’t be proud of who they are,” Tristen told local station WOTL. “This was my official way of saying I was gay and not trying to hide it.”
The video in question shows Torrez sitting on the bleachers with the pride flag draped around his shoulders. Another student approaches from behind, grabs the flag off his back and slams him down against the bleachers. The student then poured water on Torrez and choked him.
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“He hit me with the flag that I was wearing, after ripping it off my neck,” Torrez recalled.
Torrez further stated that he did not know his attacker well. He’s also not sure why the student chose to attack him.
Related: WATCH: High school students cheer as a classmate defiles the pride flag
“I’ve heard that it was a dare. Someone told me it was because I said a racial slur, which was completely false,” Torrez told WOTL, “some people said it was because I’m gay and just to do it anyway.”
Tristen’s mother Brianne, for her part, expressed her outrage.
“I wake up to my son coming home and telling me he was roughened up today,” Brianne Torrez told reporters. “He’s so used to the bullying it was kind of nothing to him, but to me, it was heartbreaking. Things like this are going to make students or people in general scared to come out.”
School officials have assured the community they know about the attack on Tristen Torrez, and will deal with his attacker. “We are aware of this situation and it was dealt with swiftly with school administration and local law enforcement,” Superintendent Bob Morton said in a statement. “Situations like this are taken seriously. We appreciate you bringing it to our attention.”
The attack on Tristen Torrez comes on the eve of pride month, and on the heels of several other incidents of homophobic bullying in the US. Earlier this month, a school in Missouri came under fire for pressuring teachers to identify gay students for potential expulsion. In Texas, students reported homophobic bullying by a teacher who scrawled homophobic graffiti on the sidewalk outside the school.
Chrisk
Dealing with the attacker means kicking the thug out of school and sending the police over and arresting him immediately. Then prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law.
Anything less is telling the other would be attackers it’s a-ok.
Jim
The police should be called and the attacker charged with assault!
Kangol2
This seems pretty clear cut, and it’s on videotape, so the attacker should be brought up on charges ASAP.
Fahd
The school district should (be required to) take the next step and announce how it dealt with the attack – suspension? expulsion? referral to law enforcement for arrest and prosecution as appropriate? All of the above?
Explicitly stating the consequences for the perpetrator would add to the deterrent effect – that is, if there indeed are appropriate and sufficiently grave consequences – I always wonder.
Also, is someone tending to the physical/mental health of Tristen Torrez ? – saying someone is used to the bullying is not helpful.
Cam
It’s always interesting that people seem to think if something happens in school the penalties should be different. If this happened outside of school it would be a crime and the kid would be arrested, but when stuff like this happens in school most of the time law enforcement isn’t involved and they come up with some half-assed punishment like a 3 day suspension.
This was assault and battery, end of story.
cuteguy
BLM will try and quash this from the mainstream media bc the perpetrator was of color. And before some of you all start, white ppl were never oppressed but black ppl were and should have empathy for us but they use their religion as a shield for their rampant homophobia
Cam
So just so I understand this. A kid was attacked and rather than showing any sympathy to him or discussion of the issue, you try to deflect as an excuse to attack Black people.
It doesn’t matter which screename you’re under, you’re just the same boring old right wing troll. Careful sweetie, we might yawn ourselves to death if you keep posting.
cuteguy
@Cam
First you accuse me of working for Netflix bc I was supporting the GAY bachelor and now, once again, bc you don’t agree with I said you incorrectly call me a right wing whatever. I only have one screen name bc unlike an old fossil like you who has nothing but time on your hands to comment on every article, I have a day job and not collecting social security like you. Maybe if you got some once in a while you wouldn’t be such a miserable old man.
mailliw110
So you think it’s ok to attack someone else because they are black?
cuteguy
@ mailliw110
So ur basically saying black ppl get a pass on attacking lgbtq ppl bc of their skin color?