Oregon middle school won't say whether student filmed attacking girl is transgender
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A middle school in Tualatin, Oregon, would not comment on whether a student who was seen beating up a girl in a school hallway earlier this month is transgender.
Hazelbrook Middle School spokesperson Traci Rose told The Oregonian that federal law prohibited the school from discussing a student's gender identity.
Video footage of the incident showed a student wearing girl's clothes dragging a classmate by her backpack in the hallway before pulling the victim's hair and hitting her several times.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attack left the victim in tears, and she could be heard in the video saying, "I can't breathe." It is unclear what prompted the beating.
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A student at Hazelbrook Middle School in Oregon was seen pulling another student's hair and repeatedly hitting her. (Fox News Digital )
The identities of the two students have not been publicly released, but the video led to public outrage after it was shared online. Some members of the public angered by the incident have alleged that the attacker is transgender, but Fox News has been unable to corroborate that claim. Fox News spoke to a teacher and parent at the school who commented on the attack but did not have first-hand knowledge of the circumstances that caused it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tualatin Police arrested the suspected attacker on assault charges. The police department told Fox News Digital that the case has been referred to the Washington County Juvenile Department.
The juvenile department said it has received a law enforcement referral regarding the incident, and a petition was filed with the Juvenile Court for Assault 4 and Harassment.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The video of the attack was shared widely on social media, including by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been a vocal advocate against transgender women competing in women's sports since she competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in college.
After the attack and subsequent outrage over the incident, the school was forced to evacuate on Friday over social media and email threats to bomb and shoot up the school.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The school board said in a statement on Thursday that the students in the video of the hallway attack had not consented to it being shared and that the clip prompted "false information and a focus and discourse on sexual identity."
"These acts have contributed to the trauma individuals and families are already experiencing," the statement read.
A vicious fight at Hazelbrook Middle School in Oregon was caught on camera and has gone viral on social media. (Fox News Digital)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A petition was shared among parents who called for harsher penalties for students who commit violence, particularly for repeat offenders.
A middle school in Tualatin, Oregon, would not comment on whether a student who was seen beating up a smaller girl in a school hallway earlier this month is transgender. (Google Maps)
Superintendent Sue Rieke-Smith defended the district's discipline policy that explains how students can learn from their mistakes, especially for minor behavior violations, including bullying and physical contact that is not assault.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Zero tolerance is antithetical to our work as educators," she said Friday. "If it is safe for the victim and the school community as a whole to extend an opportunity for the student to relearn different behavior, that is what we do."
But Rieke-Smith said that when an incident rises to an assault, there is "no tolerance," adding that an immediate referral to law enforcement would then be made. She said that is what happened in the case of the video.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital reached out to Tualatin Police Department, Washington County Juvenile Department and the school district for additional comment but did not immediately receive replies.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been updated to remove or clarify certain unconfirmed claims about the attack, and to remove references to a separate video.