LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The mother of a Cimarron-Memorial High School student who was stabbed in December is suing Clark County School District.
The mother, Maria Dolores De Jesus, filed a complaint Tuesday in Clark County District Court against the school district and the parent of the student responsible for the attack, identified only as “Jane Doe.”
The complaint alleges that CCSD failed to stop the attack and violated the student’s civil rights. De Jesus is seeking $15,000 in damages for the “emotional and physical damage” endured by her son, Gabriel Santiago.
In December, school police said a fistfight between two boys escalated into a stabbing.
Court documents claim the stabbing occurred after Santiago confronted the student responsible for the attack – referred to in the lawsuit as “A.C.” – about attacking another female student.
CCSD: STUDENT PULLS KNIFE, ASSAULTS ANOTHER STUDENT DURING FIGHT AT CIMARRON-MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Santiago was then stabbed multiple times in the “left chest and throat.”
Santiago claims CCSD then “took administrative action against him” after a video of the attack went viral on social media, drawing further media attention. The administrative actions forced Santiago to then finish the school year at a different high school, according to the lawsuit.
Santiago is suing the district for “failing to punish and segregate A.C. from the student population after he was caught with a knife on campus 12 days prior to the incident.” Santiago also alleges that the district failed to establish proper supervision in the courtyard where the attack occurred.
Court documents show that A.C. pleaded guilty in Juvenile Court to criminal charges related to the stabbing, though he was not charged as an adult.
When asked for comment by 13 Action News, CCSD declined to comment due to ongoing litigation.
