Kansas City 5-year-old hit by stray bullet now being bullied at school, father says
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) – The father of a 5-year-old Missouri boy hit by a stray bullet said his son is now being bullied at school.
The Kansas City Public School District said it began looking into the story when Primitivo Garcia Elementary School administrators found out about the allegations Thursday morning.
The father of the boy reached out to WDAF after first talking to his son’s vice principal.
“I want it to be known that bullying is not OK for any situation, whether they have been through a hard time or not, you don’t bully anybody,” Dustin Dumm said.
Dumm has a kindergartner, first-grader and third-grader at Primitivo Garcia Elementary in Kansas City, and the family has been living in a homeless shelter since shortly after moving to Kansas City, and in September.
Dumm’s son was hit in the arm by a stray bullet meant for someone else during an Independence shooting.
“The main role as a father is to protect your family, and I was kind of helpless at that point because there was nothing much I could do,” Dumm said.
Dumm’s son was sitting in the backseat of his car when someone began shooting. Several shots hit the car with one bullet hitting the boy’s arm.
“It is still an everyday battle because my son is dealing with it, and when I see him dealing with it, I deal with it because that is my blood,” Dumm said. “But we are working through it and things are getting better.”
Dumm said his children are now being bullied by an older Garcia Elementary student on the school bus.
“He is forcing me to bend my arm when I can’t bend it,” Dumm’s son said. “He is slapping my arm. He is pulling my hair, grabbing my coat.”
While Dumm’s son is being bullied on his way to school, his daughters are also in a similar situation.
“My daughters are also getting bullied because they get picked up in front of a shelter,” he said.
The father said he spoke with the Garcia Elementary assistant principal and was told she didn’t consider it “bullying.”
“She said that they were having ‘roast’ sessions,” Dumm said.
Dumm said he doesn’t care what you call it — it’s bullying.
WDAF spoke to two representatives of KCPS, and Public Relations and Marketing Manager Raymond Weikal released this statement:
“We are aware of the concerns expressed by a parent of a student enrolled at Primitivo Garcia Elementary School. The safety of students is always the top priority for KCPS, and we`re working to ensure that we`re taking care of all of the students involved.”
“If they won’t do anything then people need to stand up and do it the right way themselves by not sending their kids there,” Dumm said. “Because if one kid is getting bullied and it’s OK, then it is going to be OK for the next kid to be bullied.”
The 5-year-old boy continues to recover from his injury.