Rampant Bullying at Bronx School, Parents Say

By AHMED JALLOW & JOSEPH MODICA

Bullying at the Bronx school where a students is accused of stabbing a classmate to death has been an ongoing and serious problem, said aggrieved parents on Thursday as they gathered outside the now heavily fortified building.

The principal suspended classes at Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation on the day after Abel Cedeno, 18, allegedly killed classmate Matthew McCree, 15, and sent Ariane LaBoy, 16,  to the hospital when he plunged a switchblade into their chests and other parts of t heir bodies.

Despite this killing, the school was open the next day but a mere 34 percent of the students attended, said a representative of the Department of Education. The principal used the time to meet students and gauge how safe they feel while counselors provided psychological succor.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also paid a visit for a second time in two days to have a discussion with administrators before quickly leaving by car. He was not available to the press.

Joseph Ramos has a goddaughter enrolled at P.S. 67, an elementary school located inside the same building. Ramos mocked de Blasio’s arrival as a token visit. “If it was something he really cared about, ” Ramos said, “honestly it wouldn’t be no school [today]- he just don’t care about the poor.”

In an attempt to bolster security, school safety officers brought in three metal detectors, a dozen detector wands, two x-ray machines and extra officers. Earlieer, no metal detectors were present at the school because administrators said they feared it would create an prison-like atmosphere.

“No I don’t feel safe, I feel like all these safety officers was a show for the media.” said parent Uneek Valentil. “Today, tomorrow, let’s see what happens Monday, let’s see if we have all of these safety officers with metal detectors here Monday”

“The bullying is out of control,” said parent Enrika Estella, “they do nothing about it at all.”

“My son will come home to me, telling me that two or three boys would close the bathroom door on him and would push him.” said Estrella, who has an eight-year-old boy enrolled in the school. “There were times he would come home from school saying he did not want to go to school because he was scared because of the students.”

Parent Luz Abreu showed reporters a video depicting her son cowering in a corner of a bathroom as another student yells and threatens to hit him. The video was taken last May and shown to officials but nothing has been done.

Cedeno was arraigned Thursday morning,  charged with murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon; no bail was set

“It’s an extreme case of bullying due to the perceived sexual orientation of the suspect,” said Savannah Hornback, a longtime friend of the family. “he was constantly being called faggot and spic and I think he felt no way out other than the way he went.”

Photo of school by Ahmed Jallow