A concerned parent took to TikTok after his son, an elementary student at Keystone Elementary School, was injured and sent to the hospital on May 16. Stephen Callahan posted a video calling out the Bristol Township School District, claiming his son was attacked and hospitalized due to the negligence of a teacher’s aide.
Callahan explained that his 5-year-old son, Grayson, now has a gash on his forehead and lost two teeth after being attacked by an older student in the cafeteria on Thursday, May 16, 2024. “I was horrified. Parent mode kicks in. I hear my son screaming and I’m being told I need to go to the hospital. I just got to get him out of there,” Callahan said.
The Bristol Township School District acknowledged that a kindergarten student was injured when he was pushed by a 4th-grade student from the special education program run by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU). The school district noted that staff with BCIU are not district employees and that the unit is investigating the incident, according to NBC 10.
“The Bucks IU is aware of the incident at Keystone Elementary School on May 16, 2024, involving two Bristol Township School District students, one of whom is served by the Bucks IU. The Bucks IU team has been and remains in contact with both families and the Bristol Township School District administrative staff,” BCIU stated. They confirmed an ongoing investigation in cooperation with the school district but did not provide further details.
Callahan’s TikTok video has garnered over 1.3 million likes and more than 6 million views, drawing widespread attention to the incident. The Callahans reported the incident to Bristol Township police the morning after the attack. Police stated that the investigation is ongoing, with cooperation from the school district and BCIU.
The family has retained an attorney and believes the school has surveillance footage of the incident, which they want to see. However, they claim school officials have not provided any video evidence if it exists. “Please know that specific information cannot be shared because of legal privacy and confidentiality protections provided to all children in our public schools,” the school district stated.
Callahan expressed his distress, saying, “I have a 5-year-old who didn’t want to go to his kindergarten graduation because he’s too scared to go to school because he thinks something is going to happen to him. What would you do if you were me?” The family is now considering homeschooling Grayson for the next school year.
“Is his school doing right by him? Did his school do their job of keeping him safe, because I feel helpless,” Callahan said. The incident has sparked a broader conversation about school safety and the responsibilities of educational institutions in protecting their students.