Photos of a bruised and bloodied Charlee Funes, 13, were shared more nearly 120,000 times on Facebook alongside the post that went into detail about the bullying she faced at a Chicago school.
On Tuesday, Funes’ family shared the post that said the Gardner 7th grade student had been repeatedly bullied by a girl in her class.
The post, which has been seen by Newsweek, added: “Every instance was always name-calling, never physical. Last week, however, this changed. Charlee was in PE Class when she attacked her.
“I’m not even exaggerating when I say attacked. She was slammed into the pavement face first. Charlee lost half her front tooth and suffered severe scrapes to her face. Not only that, she’s traumatized. She did not deserve this.”
Mary Lopez, Funes’ sister, explained the bullying had happened for a while and that it had escalated from name-calling to being physically harmful.
She told WGN: “She’s been having issues with this girl at school. Just calling her names, pulling her hair.”
Funes later revealed: “She was calling me the b-word and the a-word.”
Lopez later continued to tell WGN: “They were outside for physical education and they were running and this girl stuck her foot between her legs and body-slammed her.”
Funes described what happened next and added: “I fell straight forward and I wasn’t fast enough to put my hands down. That’s when my friend helped me up and took me to the aide and when my mom was called.”
Her family later said they were considering taking legal action against the school following Charlee’s assault.
The Facebook post continued: “The school never even called an ambulance. Charlee was helped up by her friend in PE Class. On top of that, the girl who attacked her has several records from other schools, not including GGS (Gardner Grade School District No. 72).”
It continued: “The girl received a two-day suspension. My mom met with the school’s principal today. To sum up their discussion, the school is sweeping this under the rug.
“The principal would not discuss anything to my mom without an attorney, likewise, we are also seeking legal help. My sister did not deserve this.
“My mom is now burdened with medical bills. My sister is now burdened with trauma. She’s going to be scared to trust other people. At 13 years old.”
A letter sent to parents by Principal Michael Merritt was obtained by Newsweek and read: “I am writing to inform our community of an incident of student misconduct that occurred last Thursday during a physical education class that resulted in injuries to one of or students.
“In response to the incident, the District immediately began an investigation. Throughout the investigation, the District worked collaboratively with law enforcement and took immediate action in response to the student who committed the misconduct.”
It continued: “While the District is unable to share the details of the investigation and the actions taken to respond to the misconduct due to student confidentiality and privacy laws, the District takes all incidents of misconduct seriously and our student’s safety is always our first priority.”
Newsweek has contacted Mary Lopez for comment.