LONDON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After a video of a bullying incident at North Laurel High School surfaced late last week, community members decided to take a stand against bullying. That included a pop-up event featuring hundreds of trucks.
On Friday, Joe Burns saw a video of his foster son Nate – a 16-year-old with autism – being bullied in one of the school bathrooms.
“One individual held him as the other and struck him in the back,” he said. “That was not the first day but that was the fourth day of this abuse in the restroom.”
Through social media, that video caught the attention of many in the community.
“It blew up,” said Tanner Burns. “It went crazy, just everybody mad over it.”
“Initially my heart broke for the young man,” said London Mayor Randall Weddle, who spoke out against the bullying in the video.
“Nobody in the restroom had a voice for him,” Joe added. “Nobody spoke for him and that's sad.”
“Watching that happen, it like kind of set a fire through me,” said Logan Johnson.
He spoke to Joe about Nate, and Johnson learned Nate loved trucks and Taco Bell. That gave him the idea to be that voice to support Nate by organizing the Trucks Against Bullying pop-up.
“We were just going to drive by and wave and hand Taco Bell gift cards out the window,” he said.
In just a matter of hours, however, the Trucks Against Bullying pop-up meet grew to around 200 trucks.
“It was like truck after truck, burnouts after burnouts,” said Johnson. “The sheriff was there. I mean, the mayor kicked it sideways leaving. It was truly an awesome event.”
“(Nate) was just, he was beside himself,” Joe shared. “They let him rev the trucks up. They rode in the police cars. It was just a day he'll never forget.”
“It was truly just overwhelming to see just how happy he was,” said Weddle, who joined the event and met Nate. “He's seen then he wasn't alone, right? Hundreds of people standing around saying we love you and we support you.”
The hope is for Trucks Against Bullying to help teach a valuable lesson to stand against bullying.
“Don't be scared to make a change,” Tanner said. “If you see something that you don't think's right, going against another kid, jerk out your phone, video record it. Tell somebody.”
“I only hope for it to get bigger because bullying is not cool at all,” said Johnson, who is working to set up another Trucks Against Bullying event in the future.
Laurel County Public Schools responded to the video on Monday, saying, "Laurel County Public Schools is aware of a video circulating on social media involving an incident at North Laurel High School. Administration and the Laurel County Schools Police Department began a full investigation on Friday to determine the facts. We prioritize student safety above all else and continue to follow all district policies and state laws to ensure a secure learning environment. Due to federal student privacy laws (FERPA), no further details can be shared. We ask the community to respect the privacy of the students and families involved as we work to resolve this matter."
