A Houston ISD student is behind bars, accused of a hate crime against a fellow classmate.
Eighteen-year-old Jeffson Ventura-Rodriguez from El Salvador was arrested and charged with assault enhanced by hate crime.
Houston ISD police booked Ventura-Rodriguez into the Harris County Jail by Houston ISD Police.
Police say an on-going conflict between Hispanic and Afghan students at Wisdom High School has likely escalated to a brutal attack.
The victim, a 16-year-old from Afghanistan, was allegedly attacked by five other people after getting off a bus on Nov. 10.
The reported assault happened less than two miles from the high school in the 6200 block of Gulfton Street.
“The complainant was attacked from behind at first, punched in the head, neck and face and then later hit in the head with a lap top,” read a magistrate judge during the Preliminary Cause hearing for Ventura-Rodriguez.
According to court records, the victim fell to the ground and was repeatedly kicked. The attack ending when he was able to grab a large rock.
“This allegedly arose out of some ongoing conflict between Latino and Afghani students that’s been going on since October,” the judge said.
Reporters reached out to HISD to ask if there are larger issues of race at Wisdom High School. The district declined to comment and sent the following statement:
The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Due to the Family Education Right’s Privacy Act (FERPA), HISD will not be providing additional information at this time.
Records show Ventura-Rodriguez’s bond was set at $5,000.