Maryland parents seek answers after son found hanging in school bathroom

A Maryland couple wants answers after their 7-year-old son was found hanging on the door of a bathroom at an elementary school. The mother shared a cropped photo of the child in a hospital bed, along with the harrowing account of what happened at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary in Waldorf, in a now-viral social media post on Saturday (Nov. 16).

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The woman said that on Friday (Nov. 15), her son "experienced something no child should have never in life experience. My child who is a 2nd grader, was hung in the boy's bathroom by a 4th grader. I received the most traumatizing phone call from the school stating that my child was being rushed to [a] children's hospital."

When the student was located by the principal, he was reportedly foaming at the mouth and unconscious. "This is the most heartbreaking [and] traumatizing situation my family has ever been in. ... Everything about this is unacceptable. Nothing about this is ok BULLYING is never ok. I'm feeling anger [and] seeing red."

In a letter sent to parents, Charles County Public Schools district officials described the incident as "horseplaying in a school bathroom when one student's jacket got caught on a stall door hook." They allege that an involved peer was unable to assist the boy and sought help from administrators.

However, the boy's parents believe there is more to the story. Both chose not to be identified when they spoke with WUSA 9 about the ordeal. They said that their young son has bruises around his neck from being choked and marks under his eyes. Hospital records indicate that he suffered a contusion on his neck caused by blunt force trauma.

"He's traumatized. It's gonna take time. This is not something he's going to just get over overnight," his mother said. "My son did tell me that when they were in the bathroom, he said the little boy told him 'I'm going to show you how I did people back in the day,' that's why I feel like it's bullying. It's [no] telling how many other kids this has happened to."

The mother hopes that the incident will prompt school officials to implement policy changes that would prevent something of this nature from happening again. "[We're] sending our kids to school every day thinking that they are safe," the boy's father said. At this time, they have no plans to send their child back to the school.

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