An attorney representing the victim of a May 3 attack at Kingston High School sent a notice of claim to Kingston City School District officials last week, noting that the mother of the unnamed 15-year old had met with teachers and administrators to share concerns about his safety and was told he would be okay.
According to Joseph O’Connor of injury law firm O’Connor & Partners, the victim’s mother Natalie Persad met with one assistant principal and six teachers at Kingston High School on Thursday, April 20, in part to discuss her son’s concerns about his safety; O’Connor said Persad’s son identified two students who’d threatened to kill him and was told “they would keep her son safe.”
On May 3, nearly two weeks after that meeting, the victim was attacked in the Kingston High School cafeteria by the two students he’d identified. The incident lasted approximately 18 seconds before being broken up by Kingston High School security. A monitor and custodian, both certified EMTs, immediately assisted the student who was attacked, followed by the KHS medical team. A hold-in-place lasting around 45 minutes was issued while first responders cared for the victim, who was then hospitalized. Students in the cafeteria were moved into the auditorium during this time.
In a viral video recorded by at least one student on a smartphone, authorities identified the 15-year old as allegedly kicking the victim in the head while Ty’Juan Gray allegedly leapt from a cafeteria table onto the victim’s head. O’Connor said the attack was coordinated by the pair and may also have included a student who recorded the incident and an onlooker. But O’Connor said that in spite of their attackers wearing similar colors, including red athletic shoes, allegations that the attack was gang-related may have been overstated.
“Are they with a group of friends that all associated with each other? Yes,” said O’Connor. “But not in the gang sense where we think of where there are members of a specific gang that commits crimes. They’re a group of friends that bond or hang out together.”
O’Connor said that Gray and the other alleged attacker were not on their lunch periods at the time of the attack.
“It was improper for them to be in there,” O’Connor said. “You’ve been in the same lunch period for the entire year. Everyone knows who’s supposed to be in there and who’s not supposed to be in there. It was no their lunch period, nor were they supposed to even be in the cafeteria.”
According to O’Connor, Gray and the other alleged attacker had threatened the victim previously, causing him to fear for his safety enough that he “notified the social worker several times” and stayed home from school. O’Connor added that one of the attackers had committed an act of violence against another student in the past.
“He punched someone and it caused the person to go down the steps,” O’Connor said. “Whether he threw him or punched him, he went down the steps. My understanding was a pretty brutal event. Even though the person was not injured as badly as he could have been…it was a real dangerous act.”
O’Connor said his client plans to return to school after a few further medical appointments.
According to authorities, the victim sustained a skull fracture, and trauma and bleeding on the brain, and underwent an emergency procedure at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla to remove part of his skull to relieve pressure on the brain. He has since been released from the hospital. Whether he fully recovers remains to be seen, but according to officials he has no memory of his attack.
In announcing the May 9 arrests of the two alleged attackers, the City of Kingston Police said that while the investigation began immediately upon the department being made aware of the incident, they worked deliberately and thoroughly conducting interviews and collecting evidence.
“In any investigation several factors are considered during the investigation in determining the appropriateness of the charge and the timing of the arrest,” read the KPD’s press release. “The safety of the public is always the primary concern. The seriousness of the injuries must be determined prior to filing the correct charges. Prematurely charging a suspect can in some cases lead to lesser charges being filed and preclusion of the possibility of filing more serious charges.”
O’Connor said his clients’ case will proceed with similar deliberation, with the notice of claim a precursor to a possible lawsuit. According to the notice of claim, the victim and his mother are seeking compensation for “personal injuries, emotional distress and disability.” According to New York State law, the school district will have the opportunity to depose the victim and either settle or waive the claim.
“We want a lot of answers,” said O’Connor. “What was being done to protect these kids? The whole school, not just my client.”
O’Connor said he expects that the administrator and teacher present at the April 20 meeting with the victim’s mother would be deposed should the case wind up in court. He added that his office has already scoured two years’ worth of School Board meetings and produced transcripts of any time student safety was brought up by district officials, trustees, or members of the public.
“It sounds like they were decreasing security in the face of rising threats instead of increasing security,” O’Connor said.
The eight-page claim was mailed to the KCSD on Wednesday, May 24. Two days later, Superintendent Paul Padalino said he hadn’t seen it yet, adding that due to the likelihood of litigation he would have no further comment.
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