For ethical reasons, and to protect the teenagers’ privacy, RTL has made an editorial decision not to show the footage. For this reason, this article will only show screenshots from the footage, in which the children’s faces have been blurred.
To provide some background to the story: the video, which is 44 seconds long, has been circulated on social media across Luxembourg over the last few weeks.
It was recorded at a Luxembourgish secondary school in western Luxembourg on 1 June, during a break in between classes at 9.30am. In the footage, which was filmed in a boys’ lavatory, two young pupils are seen beating a third pupil with their fists and feet. The attackers are thought to be in the second (6ème) and third year (5ème) of secondary school respectively, while the victim, seen laying on the floor, is in second year (6ème).
A young girl is briefly seen running through the frame. The fifth person in the video is filming the incident on their mobile phone from a distance. At the end of the video, the victim stands up, although it is not clear how bad his injuries are.
The school’s director, responding to RTL’s questions, claimed the victim had never been in real danger and was currently doing well. He expressed shock at the violence depicted in the footage, and said the victim was lucky not to have been badly hurt. The director went on to explain that one of the perpetrators of the violence had recently transferred to the school after being expelled from another establishment for disciplinary reasons, among others.
With regard to the disciplinary council meeting on 14 June, the director could only reveal that the two aggressors, aged 14 and 15 respectively, were no longer attending the school. The other two pupils involved in the video, namely, the girl who appears on screen, as well as the boy filming, had been sanctioned for failing to assist a person in danger.
The school’s upper management had been made aware of the video a few days after the incident took place. The director said they had immediately contacted the parents of the children involved, as well as the prosecutor’s office.
Upon contacting the police and the public prosecutor’s office, RTL received confirmation that an investigation was underway. Neither party was able to give a statement or comment with further information for this reason.
Minister of Education Claude Meisch commented on the video on 18 June during the RTL Television show “Background am Gespréich”, saying: “We are having internal discussions on the matter. We know the phenomenon is happening and it is a great cause for concern.”
The two perpetrators of the attack were brought before a disciplinary council on 14 June. Both were suspended from the school and transferred to other establishments, as they have not yet completed their mandatory schooling.
According to RTL sources, the pupils were contacted by the judicial police as part of the investigation. It has not been confirmed whether the investigation is solely focused on this incident, or linked to potential gang activities.
Government initiative BEE Secure, which focuses on online safety, said they had not been contacted with regard to the video. However, they were aware of similar videos which have circulated in the past, linked to cyber-bullying.
BEE Secure has received reports from other schools, however, in relation to violent videos. On these occasions, the association has been able to step in and speak to the affected classes. Jeff Kauffmann of BEE Secure told RTL that frequently these videos go beyond playgrounds, eventually circulating around the whole country. This in turn makes life difficult for the victims as they are left with no way to escape the bullying. It was important to show victims of bullying that there is help available.
The risk with online videos such as this one is that perpetrators of the violent acts can effectively boast of their actions and quantify likes through the footage going viral. BEE Secure therefore appeals to witnesses to show solidarity with the victims instead.
According to accounts in foreign media, such violence among teenagers is spreading online, with specialised social media accounts dedicated to sharing videos of violence. Some of these are even staged in order to gain traction online, making it difficult to verify the authenticity of actual criminal acts. The director of the secondary school in this case, however, said it was clear this video had not been staged.
