An East Bay mother is demanding action from the school district after her son… was confronted by a parent before being attacked by a group of older teenagers in the locker room at Dublin High School last week.
According to police, a Dublin High parent had previously been in a confrontation with the freshman football player a group of teenagers stormed into the locker room after school on Friday and attacked the victim.
In a letter to families in the school community, Principal Maureen Byrne said she and school officials are “outraged that this has happened on our campus. School should be a place where everyone feels safe and supported.”
Dublin police said in a separate statement Tuesday afternoon that the male victim was first confronted by a parent at school around 3:30 p.m. The victim retreated into the boys’ locker room and was followed by the parent and four unknown individuals, aged approximately 16 to 19.
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The victim, identified as 14-year-old Dasanni Barfield, is now recovering from a broken nose and a concussion. His mother Cherie Barfield is calling on the school to keep students on campus safe.
Cherie Barfield and her son are both shocked and concerned about his future at Dublin High after the attack, they said in an interview with CBS News Bay Area on Tuesday.
Dasanni said he was standing outside the locker room when the Dublin High School parent, who he said was the mother of a student, confronted him.
“So while I’m outside, the mother asks which one of you… she calls out…” Dasanni started to say, but then stopped talking.
“’N—ers.’ Say what she said,” Cherie Barfield interrupted.
“She called us that. She asked us that, with that word,” Dasanni added.
“He just won’t say the word. That’s how the mother approached him,” Cherie Barfield said. “It’s on the surveillance video.”
“Yeah. But when she said that, the two people next to me got up and walked away,” Desanni continued. “So she already knows it’s me. So when she says that, I just walk away. I wouldn’t want to argue with her.”
Desanni said he also saw four larger people approach the mother and retreat into the locker room. The actual attack followed the confrontation.
“These guys come into the locker room and ask, ‘Are you Dasanni? Are you Dasanni?’ One of the guys sucker punches me. I get up, start fighting back and they all start jumping on me,” he explained.
“I feel sorry for him because I don’t know how it’s going to affect him for the rest of his life,” his mother said. “The trauma that followed.”
She was particularly concerned that police said a parent at Dublin High School had assisted in the attack.
“I just can’t understand how another parent can just physically harm another child. And get away with it,” she said.
One of Dasanni’s teammates was among those who rushed forward to stop the attack.
The concerned mother said the fact that the perpetrators of the attack were able to enter the school so easily makes her question the safety of others and is demanding action from the school authorities.
“I just want my son to be safe, I want all the kids in this community to be safe,” she said. “We live here. We started a restaurant here to bring this community together.”
Cherie said she wants to keep Desanni’s dream of playing soccer alive, but he already won’t be able to play in his first game as a freshman.
“Football has been his everything since he was seven. And not being able to play in his first team… I wish I could take care of everything for him, but I can’t,” she said.
Cherie is also angry with the school for not communicating with her promptly about the incident and demands answers from the administration.
“I just don’t understand how Dublin [High] “They didn’t contact us and how they tried to cover up this whole story. I feel like someone dropped the ball. Someone dropped the ball and a child got hurt,” she said. “And we just want answers. We want justice.”
Dublin police said school officers continued to interview witnesses and collect video footage to determine a motive and how the victim, suspect and parents at Dublin High School knew each other.
