Bakersfield, California. – Two California adolescents were arrested after reportedly bullying a middle school classmate in a video that went viral on social media.
The video shows the youths and the victim, Carter Lashaul, standing in a Bakersfield driveway on Monday, Aug. 26.
“Get down on the floor and lick that (expletive),” one of the teenagers says in the video. Lashaul was then allegedly forced to lick the soles of one of their shoes.
Adina Alaniz, whose home security cameras had captured the incident, ran outside to assist Lashaul as he sobbed. “Are you okay?” she asks him in the video.
Alaniz told Nexstar’s KGET that by the time she ran outside, the event had ended.
“I thought I had got out there fast enough to prevent it, but turns out it had already happened,” she told me. “I can only imagine what he felt in that moment.”
Bobbie Moorehead, Lashaul’s grandmother, stated that her grandson would no longer walk home.
“See what they did to him. How are you going to get someone to lick your feet? Why would you do something like that? “That is not correct,” she told KGET.
The defendants, aged 14 and 15, were put into a juvenile detention facility on charges of violence, false imprisonment, and conspiracy. Police did not divulge their identities because they are minors.
Both teenagers attend Golden Valley High School, which is part of the Kern High School District. The district issued a statement Tuesday describing the video as “deeply disturbing.”
“We are firmly opposed to such behavior and will not tolerate bullying,” the statement continues. “We are actively investigating this matter and are working closely with the Bakersfield Police Department and Kern High School District Police to address it appropriately.”
On Tuesday, students and parents rallied on the high school campus to support Lashaul, who attends Leon H. Ollivier Middle School.
“There should be no bullying or violence,” stated rallygoer Persaias Hollinquest. “There should be no reason to belittle a person when we’re all humans at the end of the day.”
The Greenfield Union School District, which manages Leon H. Ollivier, stated that it has also “initiated an investigation into the incident.”
“We would like to encourage families at this time to have a conversation with their students about anti-bullying,” the Greenfield Union School District stated. “School safety is a shared responsibility.”