A racially-motivated assault on a 15-year-old Syrian boy has triggered a police investigation after the incident was shared on social media.
In the video, the Syrian boy with a broken arm is dragged to the ground in a headlock and pinned down by his throat by his classmate. The taller peer douses his face with water, reminiscing waterboarding torture technique, threatening him "I'll drown you."
The Syrian student then gets up and walks off the playing field while the attacker continues verbal abuse while onlookers laugh.
After months of allowing racist bullying to continue, British police finally open investigation into Syrian refugee boy attacked by classmates, including one peer who mockingly waterboarded him on the property of Almondbury Community School in West Yorkshire pic.twitter.com/jrwWJFopcn
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) November 28, 2018
Police said the "racially-aggravated assault" happened on Oct. 25 during lunch break at a high school in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
"We are investigating a report of a racially-aggravated assault of a 15-year-old boy which occurred on playing fields... at about 1 p.m. on Oct. 25," Superintendent Steve Dodds of the West Yorkshire Police said.
"A 16-year-old boy has been interviewed by voluntary attendance in connection with the incident and we are continuing to progress the investigation," he added.
Local MP Barry Sheerman, who shared the video on Twitter, called the incident "absolutely shocking," and expressed support for the boy and his family.
Kirklees Council, which governs the district of West Yorkshire where the school is located, said in a statement that neither it nor Almondbury Community School "condone violence, and behaviour like this will not be tolerated."
The school's headteacher also issued a statement calling the incident "very serious."
The video has gone viral on social media, sparking an online fundraising campaign that has already gathered more than 34,000 pounds ($43,000).
Some Twitter users claimed the boy's wrist, seen in a cast in the video, had been broken in a similar assault.
In yet another worrying side of the incident, some users shared the alleged name and the address of the attacker.