A Bristol Township father’s TikTok videos alleging his elementary school-aged son was badly injured in an assault by a special needs student have garnered more than 1.5 million views.
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Steve Callahan, who goes by the TikTok handle “jawnski215,” expressed his frustration on the social media platform about what he described as mishandling of the incident by school authorities.
Callahan said his 5-year-old son was assaulted by a fourth-grade student with special needs last Thursday at Keystone Elementary School in Bristol Township’s Croydon section. He reported that his son sustained several injuries and required hospital treatment.
According to Callahan, his son suffered a laceration on his head, bruises, and lost teeth in the incident.
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“The school will not let me see the footage of what happened to my son,” Callahan said in one of his videos, adding that medical professionals were concerned about his son’s condition and wanted to see the video.
Callahan questioned whether the school district had taken adequate measures to ensure his son’s safety and called on his followers to help raise awareness of the incident.
“I am not going to stop until they have done right by my son,” he stated.
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Spokespeople for the Bristol Township School District, Bucks County Intermediate Unit (IU), and Bristol Township police confirmed to LevittownNow.com that the incident was under investigation.
The student alleged to have assaulted Callahan’s son was participating in a special education program managed by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, which collaborates with all the school districts in the county. The program was being held at Keystone Elementary School.
Robyn Gross, the spokesperson for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, released the following statement:
“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. The Bucks IU is conducting an investigation in full cooperation with the school district. Based on the outcomes of this investigation, the Bucks IU will take appropriate actions specific to the students, team members, and programs involved. In addition to the swift action taken by the Bucks IU team, the Bucks IU remains committed to supporting all involved in this difficult situation. The health and safety of all students and team members remains a priority. To protect the privacy and rights of our students and team members, the Bucks IU is unable to provide additional information.”
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The Bristol Township School District released the following statement:
“The Bristol Township School District has been made aware of a post by a district parent on the social media platform TikTok regarding an incident that took place at Keystone Elementary School on May 16th. The district has also been contacted by several media organizations regarding this social media post.
“Please know that specific information cannot be shared because of legal privacy and confidentiality protections provided to all children in our public schools. That being acknowledged, there are details regarding the incident for which the district would like to provide clarification:
“On Thursday May 16, a Keystone Elementary Kindergarten student was injured when he was pushed in the cafeteria by a 4th grade student from a special education program run by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU).
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“We are apologetic to the student and family, and wish the child a speedy recovery. Our primary concern is the health and safety of all our students, and whenever a student is hurt in school, we are saddened.
“The BCIU runs a special education program that utilizes space within Keystone Elementary School. The students serviced by this program are students of the BCIU, not the Bristol Township School District. The staff running the program are employees of the BCIU, not the Bristol Township School District.
“Since the incident occurred, the BCIU team has begun an investigation regarding this incident. That investigation is ongoing. The BCIU is cooperating with our school district and remains in regular communication. The Bristol Township School District trusts that the BCIU will share any updates allowable by law after their investigation concludes and put in place measures and processes to ensure that this does not occur again.”
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In a follow-up video, Callahan said he has learned the fourth-grade student was behind other assaults in the school and he questioned what was done in those cases.
Callahan mentioned in his videos that his son is now scared to attend his kindergarten graduation.
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