Mashpee High School in Massachusetts is facing turmoil after 15-year-old Aliyah Konton vanished days after a vicious attack by another girl, who forced her to lick the bathroom floor.
A friend of the bully filmed the horrifying incident and shared it on Snapchat, making the footage go viral. Aliyah had recently moved to the Cape Cod school and was attempting to "fit in," a classmate revealed.
The shocking video was discovered by a school resource officer on May 25, but parents remained unaware of the assault until Aliyah disappeared eight days later.
One concerned mother, with three children at the school, expressed her outrage online, writing via the Daily Mail, "The lack of communication and the complete lack of accountability and consequences of perpetrators in the school system are beyond disgraceful.
"I hope to God she's found safe and alive and those kids on that video face the consequences of their horrific actions."
The distressing video begins with Aliyah standing alone in a school corridor, as her attacker confronts her with an audience of students watching in the background. Gasps can be heard as the bully casually slaps Aliyah before walking away. The scene then shifts to the bathroom, where the accomplice films the bully dragging a screaming Aliyah by her hair, eventually forcing her to lick the floor.
Eight days later, an intense search involving multiple local, state, and federal resources was launched after Aliyah disappeared from her Mashpee home. The revelation of the attack sparked outrage.
"It's awful to find out about this horrific incident on Facebook a week later, and not from the school itself," another parent commented.
A mother demanded: "Why has the Mashpee school system not informed us of this situation?"
"Mashpee has always been one to turn their heads when something is going on, if it looks bad on them then they don't wanna talk about it," added a different parent.
Residents began organizing search parties and reaching out to Aliyah.
"Aliyah, you are loved and cared about by people who have never met you," wrote one online commenter. "Please go somewhere safe, message anyone on this thread, we will help you. Our world needs you in it."
Another shared: "My first thought was please let this girl know that life gets better after high school. What happened to her is messed up and absolutely NO ONE is laughing with those mean girls."
Classmate Leah Holtz told WCVB: "She just seems like she was trying to fit in and just trying to make friends with everybody. No student, no person, should ever be harmed in that way. I just feel very sick to my stomach because I just want her to be found."
The silence from the school administration only fueled the anger. "Still not a peep from the school," wrote one person. "They are promoting Spirit Day? We, as parents of a 6-year-old in this school system, are seriously contemplating whether we should keep our child in a school system that lets this happen."
However, a day later, two boys at Planet Fitness in nearby Barnstable recognized a girl from the police missing posters. They alerted the manager, who contacted the police, leading to Aliyah being found.
"The town of Mashpee came together for one of its own and again I am happy to report she has been found safe," the police announced, per NBC Boston.
A 13-year-old girl now faces seven counts of assault and battery in Falmouth District Court's juvenile division.
The town remains outraged. "What are the consequences for the ones who in video dragged her by hair into school bathroom and hit her and made her lick the floor?" asked Selma Parker. "May us parents get some answers?"
Another parent added: "The schools need to do a better job. They are all talk with this stuff and when it comes time to actually protect kids from bullies they turn the other way."
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