Deemitri Figueroa used to love school. Now, he dreads it.
The 12-year-old from New Jersey said he been relentlessly bullied by a particular group of kids so much, he’s scared to go to school every day.
"I cry myself to sleep, I don’t feel safe at all going to school," Deemitri said.
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WATCH HEREHe and the boys he said have been bullying him are all in the sixth grade at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Fair Lawn. Deemitri said he used to be friends with the kids who are now making his life miserable.
His mother, Anna, said it all started when her son ended a friendship with one of the boys. That boy started harassing him, and Deemitri said that same child later attacked him at Berdan Grove Park.
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SIGN UP "He put me in a headlock and I started choking and I started trying to gasp for air," Deemitri told NBC New York. "He started throwing punches and kicking then he grabbed me and he body slammed me to the ground...I hit directly on my head."
His mother said she tried to talk to the other boy's parents, but it did no good.
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"I tried reaching out to the parents and they tried to turn the tables to say their son is innocent and my son is the problem," said Anna Khomuk.
A doctor said Deemitri suffered a severe concussion from the fight and ordered bed rest, which led to him missing a month of school. When he returned, he said the harassment got worse.
"He cornered me in the bathroom, he’s yelling insults at me in the hallway and I don’t feel like the school is trying hard enough to look at them," said Deemitri.
Khomuk said she filed a Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying reporter with the school district. She was assured the school would separate the boys and keep Deemitri safe, but she says little has changed. Now she just wants her son transferred to the other middle school in town.
"This is a never-ending nightmare. I just want this to stop. I don’t want the backlash, I just want someone to hear that this is a cry for help," said Khomuk.
The district superintendent did not immediately respond when asked if Deemitri would be transferred. The boy's mother said her next step would be to file criminal charges.
