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Bullying incident turns violent, leaves girl with missing hair

Lawson said her daughter was bullied by another student in her class. The incident left her physically injured, and the damage could take months to heal.

ST. LOUIS – A mother decided to pull her daughter out of school after she said a bullying incident turned violent.

Amanda Lawson said she was frantic when she received a call from her daughter’s school informing her that her 6-year-old had been hurt.

Lawson said her daughter was bullied by another student in her class. The incident left her physically injured, and the damage could take months to heal.

"The dean of students had called me and was like some girl had pulled her hair out of her head," Lawson said.

She said a student attacked her daughter in class ripping her hair from her scalp, leaving her with multiple bald spots.

"They gave me the hair in a bag that they had and I just I couldn't believe it. I was mad like I wanted to protect her," Lawson said.

Lawson said her daughter only returned to school once since the incident and she had a hard time coping in class for fear of being bullied again.

A spokesperson for St. Louis Public Schools said in a statement the district is aware of the incident, and that it occurred after an argument between the two first graders.

Lawson did call police but police decided not to file any charges. She said instead of sending her daughter back to Lyon Academy she's enrolling her in a different school hoping this will help.

Elizabeth Matoushek is a Crisis Intervention Manager for Provident in St. Louis. She said when children are bullied it can lead to other things like depression, self-harm or even suicidal thoughts.

Therefore, it’s important for parents to ask children about their feelings, and give them a safe space and support to talk about these things. This type of dialogue could help to prevent any of those ripple effects occurring.

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