Florida deputies are investigating an incident caught on video in which students hurled homophobic slurs at several LGBTQ students.
The incident happened after the final bell rang at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County on Friday when a group of seven male students began hoisting a Confederate flag and directing hate speech toward the group of students.
“There’s only two genders, faggot!” one student can be heard screaming in the video.
The student who filmed the clip, who is transgender, said he began recording after he heard the students yelling at the group of students, who are from the high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club, according to local reports.
St. John’s County School District concluded an internal investigation into the matter on Monday, handing out punishments to all seven boys involved. The incident was determined to be a level III or level IV infraction, which may subject a student to criminal proceedings.
The slurs began after the final bell on September 17, 2021 at Bartram Trail High School.
The school has opened an investigation into the incident and has threatened to punish the students involved.
“This behavior is not acceptable and it wasn’t indicative of the culture at Bartram Trail,” district spokeswoman Christina Langston told The Post Tuesday. “It was extremely disappointing and disturbing that students would handle themselves in this way.”
Langston said she was not sure whether criminal charges will be filed.
The transgender student told the outlet that he is used to the insults thrown his way in the hallway, however he thinks that the problem appears to be worsening.
In the video, a group of male students began hoisting a Confederate flag and directing hate speech toward the group of students.
The school district said that a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office youth resource deputy will help conduct the investigation. Google Maps“After seeing what happened on Friday, it makes me feel a lot less safe than I already did feel at school,” the student said. “Some of my friends have it worse than that. So it makes me feel really worried for my friends and myself.”
The student’s mother was also troubled by the incident.
“So it was very concerning for me,” the student’s mother said. “And what I’d like to see happen is, I’d like to see that these boys are punished for certain.”
A student revealed that the hecklers were directing the hateful comments toward members of the Gay-Straight Alliance club.
The school began investigating the incident on Friday, and has threatened to punish the students involved.
On Tuesday, it was not clear whether those involved had been punished. The Post has reached out to the school district.
The school district said that a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office youth resource deputy will help conduct the investigation.
The St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
