South Carolina 17-Year-Old Tavon Walters Facing Assault Charges After Allegedly Slapping 5-Year-Old On Bus [Video]

Parents in South Carolina are furious after they say 17-year-old Tavon Walters physically assaulted their 5-year-old daughter on the school bus on August 25. What’s worse, according to Terry Peters, the father of assaulted 5-year-old Jazmyn Peters, is that the entire violent incident was caught on tape and the school district didn’t seem to want to take any action.

The slap suffered by Jazmyn, allegedly at the hands of South Carolina 17-year-old Tavon Walters, was hard enough to leave her small face welted and red, with the shape of a hand print clearly visible.

As KTLA reports, the school bus bullying incident happened in Bamberg, South Carolina, and was reportedly the direct result of actions taken by 17-year-old Tavon Walters.

You can see what happened for yourself in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDrCwgiWp0g

According to reports, the incident took place when the South Carolina 17-year-old and his alleged victim were riding a school bus to an after-school program. Reportedly, it is commonplace for students of all ages to share the same buses in the school district.

In the video, you can see 17-year-old Tavon Walters forcibly grab the hand of another student and bus passenger and use it as a weapon against his kindergarten-age victim. The 5-year-old girl’s father says that the South Carolina 17-year-old tried to urge the other student to hit his daughter Jazmyn, but the other student refused.

“He had reached over that seat and telling another girl if you don’t hit her then I’m going to hit her for you.”

17yr Tavon Walters fr Bamberg SC allegedly slapped a 5yr old on school bus & his friends cheers!? #JusticeForJazzy pic.twitter.com/HOfzHNTOiR

— CaliGirl ?? (@USA1stAlways) August 30, 2016

A WGNTV report on the incident involving South Carolina 17-year-old Tavon Walters indicates that the family of the 5-year-old victim is absolutely livid that their daughter was abused on the school bus. Their anger has reportedly been made worse by the reaction of the school district to the behavior of 17-year-old Walters — behavior that was caught on camera.

“I’m very upset. I’m mad.”

According to multiple reports, Bamberg District One School Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting doesn’t think that the 5-year-old girl’s injuries were sustained on the school bus despite the damning surveillance video. She says that the video shows South Carolina 17-year-old Tavon Walters hitting Jazmyn Peters on the cheek opposite of the one that was later red and wilted.

“There was some perhaps inappropriate you know picking up another child’s hand but not any evidence she left with a hand print on her face from the bus.”

Furthermore, according to the district superintendent, the behavior displayed by Tavon Walters is no worse than what goes on the school buses every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KUdfniny6A

Police disagreed with the assessment of the school district’s representative, though. According to investigators, it’s believed that the photo may have been flipped, and they are leaning towards believing that the video and photographic evidence proves that the injuries sustained by 5-year-old Jazmyn were a direct result of her being hit by 17-year-old Tavon Walters.

Police issued a warrant for the arrest of the South Carolina 17-year-old last week, and he reportedly turned himself in to local law enforcement on August 30 and was released on $1,000 bond. He has reportedly been charged with assault for the incident, and police are still investigating the bullying and physical abuse of the 5-year-old.

Police believe they may have proof 17 year old Tavon Walters is responsible for the slap t… https://t.co/T9Oa1YsNRP pic.twitter.com/wB1lQ1q5LL

— Mr THP ( ??????????? ) (@MrTHPQC) September 1, 2016

For her parents, however, what the police are doing is simply not enough. Reportedly, they are considering filing a lawsuit against the school district for the role they played in the alleged assault caught on tape as well as for the part they played in minimizing the severity of the abuse their daughter allegedly endured at the hands of South Carolina 17-year-old Tavon Walters.

Reportedly, the teen has frequently been in trouble at school and was even on probation at the time he allegedly slapped 5-year-old Jazmyn Peters.

“This kid has been in trouble at school before, no secret. They’re saying he’s on probation. Why is it that someone who has a history like that allowed to ride the bus, especially with young students.”

What are they doing putting babies on the school bus with kids that are almost adults? https://t.co/uY8AyvZ2Pv

— Helen Kruse (@HelenKruse) September 4, 2016

According to an attorney for the family, the teen even has a history of violence.

The school district superintendent said that the 17-year-old wasn’t banned from riding the bus because he has no history of misbehaving on the school bus.

According to the family of the Jazmyn Peters, the 5-year-old is physically going to be fine. However, she is dealing with some emotional scars due to the alleged bullying and assault she endured on the school bus. Reportedly, since she was slapped in the face by South Carolina 17-year-old Tavon Walters, she is now afraid to ride the bus.

[Image via Bamberg Police Department/Peters Family/Twitter]