CAIR-Houston claims Afghan girls violently attacked at HISD middle school, demand action

HOUSTON - A Houston advocacy group is calling out Houston Independent School District after they say an alleged attack left three Afghan middle school students hospitalized.

According to CAIR-Houston, the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the violent assault took place on March 3 at Paul Revere Middle School.

In a response, Houston ISD said some details of the incident shared by CAIR "do not match the facts of the investigation" but added that "the district shares CAIR's belief that the incident warranted both consequences for the aggressors and care for the victim."

Alleged attack at Houston ISD

The backstory:

CAIR reports the families of the three girls claimed the students were sitting at a lunch table when at least 20 students surrounded their table and physically assaulted them. Houston ISD said seven aggressors were 

The girls were allegedly stabbed with pencils and one was beaten so bad she became unresponsive. She was taken to Texas Children's Hospital in the Medical Center and is required to wear a neck brace after being admitted for four days.

Claims were made the middle schoolers were attacked because of their ethnicity and wore a hijab.

CAIR-Houston posted a blurred picture of a person in a neck brace on their social media. They also shared a video of the alleged attack on their YouTube. In the video you can see what appears to be a staff member attempting to break up the fight.

What they're saying:

 CAIR-Houston Director William White gave this statement in their press release:

"It is absolutely unacceptable for any student to be allegedly violently assaulted and then abandoned by the very institution that is supposed to protect them," said William White, Director of CAIR-Houston. "These students came to this country in search of safety and stability—what they endured instead is a complete failure of accountability and compassion. HISD must act immediately to ensure their safety, support their healing, hold the students responsible accountable, and send a clear message that violence and bias will not be tolerated in our schools."

"We are calling on HISD to immediately approve school transfers for these students so they can learn in a safe environment. We also demand a full, independent investigation into the incident, accountability for all involved—including any staff who failed to act—and trauma-informed support for the victims and their families," White continued. "HISD must also implement strong, clear policies to prevent future acts of violence and discrimination. Our schools should be places of safety and learning, not fear and trauma."

Houston ISD responds

The other side:

In a response, a Houston ISD spokesperson says a victim in the incident was offered a school transfer, and the seven aggressors "received disciplinary consequences aligned with the district’s code of conduct."

Read the full response below: 

"HISD takes the safety of all students very seriously, and the images of this incident do not meet the standards we expect of our students. While some of the details shared in CAIR’s press release do not match the facts of the investigation, the district shares CAIR's belief that the incident warranted both consequences for the aggressors and care for the victim. The seven aggressors in the incident received disciplinary consequences aligned with the district’s code of conduct. The victim in the incident has been offered a school transfer, which is currently in process. The school staff met with the family on March 6th to discuss their concerns. School staff explained that consequences were issued immediately based on the HISD Code of Conduct, and advised the parents of their right to press criminal/assault charges against the students who assaulted their daughter."

Family attorney responds

Ahsan Patoli, the attorney representing the family, are calling on Houston ISD and Paul Revere Middle School to take urgent and transparent action following the alleged violent targeting of three Afghan girls on March 3. 

"What we’re asking for is very, very simple. We asked for the girls to be transferred into another school. This incident happened more than a month now. We’re still waiting on that to happen."