Bullies shove deaf student's backpack in toilet, heartbreaking photo goes viral
(FOX 11) - High school students in Nebraska shoved a fellow deaf student's backpack into a toilet during lunch, and a photo of the incident is sparking outrage on social media.
Alex Hernandez, a student at Burke High School in Nebraska, left his backpack on a chair in the cafeteria while getting some food, according to KMTV. When he returned, it was gone.
He told school administrators about the missing backpack, and they found surveillance footage that showed two male students walking off with it.
KMTV reports another student later found Hernandez's belongings stuffed in a school toilet, including his tablet, homework, debit card and a cochlear implant -- which he needs to hear.
"Those students think it's okay to bully a deaf student, but it's not. It's not okay to bully someone who is disabled, deaf or hard of hearing," Hernandez told the news station. "Or anyone for that matter."
It wasn't the expensive tablet or cochlear implant that left him the most upset. It was the fact that bullies ruined his English project.
"I was very upset because I know I work really hard on my project and homework because I just want to make my mom to be happy and know that I did a good job on the homework," he said.
Hernandez, who has been deaf since he was 1 year old, told KMTV that he has been bullied for years. He added that he no longer feels safe at school and is considering transferring to a different one.
Hernandez's mom told the station that the school later identified the two students who took Hernandez's backpack, who claimed they didn't know he was deaf.
Hernandez's mom was also told one of the students was suspended, and the other is still under investigation by the school.
"I just want to talk to them; I don't want to fight them," Hernandez told KMTV. "I want to talk it out. And talk to their parents about them so they can tell them they need to teach them the right thing to do."
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