Law enforcement in Springfield, Ohio, has launched a criminal investigation over a video that shows multiple Black elementary school students assaulting their white peers, the New York Post reported.
According to police, a group of Black students from Kenwood Elementary School walked around the school's playground during recess on Feb. 10, forcing white students to say "Black lives matter" or risk getting assaulted.
The criminal probe was launched two days after footage of part of the incident was obtained by Dayton 24/7 Now, depicting a tall Black student grabbing a much smaller white one.
The white student then appears to be marched around the playground before others join in to assault him. Later in the video, the same process was repeated twice with two other white students.
Police said Kenwood Elementary's principal informed them that the Black students filmed the white children saying, "Black lives matter" and "chased down and escorted, dragged or carried" the detractors.
Authorities are pursuing charges in the attack, with Denise Williams, president of the Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, telling local news that the perpetrators have been suspended.
The incident is being treated as an anti-white hate crime and lists at least four students involved, with names not immediately available, the Daily Mail noted.
The Springfield City School District released a statement saying that it would not disclose how the students are punished, per Newsweek.
"The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the District from disclosing personally identifiable information or details about the discipline of a child to anyone other than their parent or guardian," the district said.
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