Guard who stood by in New Brunswick school beating fired, report says

A security guard who apparently stood by as a student was brutally beaten in a fight at New Brunswick High School has been fired, according to a report by New Brunswick Today.

The newspaper said superintendent Aubrey Johnson mentioned the firing of the unidentified guard during a question-and-answer portion of Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.

"Yes, there may have been a lapse — Let me correct that: There was a lapse in judgment, in my opinion. And the security guard is no longer with the district as of yesterday," Johnson said Tuesday, according to the site.

The firing and acknowledgement are a change of tone for the school district. In response to media inquiries about the fight — which 15-year-old Oscar Aparicio Jr., seen in the video being hit and kicked repeatedly, said was let continue by a guard who didn't intervene — the school district previously said "all relevant protocols were followed."

The district had previously stressed that security personnel separated the two students — Aparicio Jr., whose family has come forward to talk about the incident, and an unidentified 16-year-old — after just 21 seconds. It didn't specifically address the Aparicio family's contention that a nearby guard let the fight continue.

The altercation last Thursday in the school's hallways was captured on video. Aparicio had previously told New Brunswick Today said he fractured his nose, sprained his shoulder and lost a tooth in the attack. In a statement, New Brunswick Police said a preliminary report determined a16-year-old started the fight over a girl.

Prior to Tuesday night's BOE meeting, Aparicio's family organized a protest in front of school district headquarters over violence in New Brunswick schools.

“It’s not right, my son was badly hurt, I’m feeling very angry and sad. I can’t believe the school can allow this,” Aparicio's father said at the time.. “What happened with the security?”

Aparicio's father told the crowd, after meeting with the school superintendent, that the 16-year-old had been dismissed from school and he was satisfied with the meeting.

School officials have not confirmed that the student who attacked Aparicio’s son would be expelled, saying they can't discuss matters disciplinary involving individual students. Aparicio said his son is still recovering and he’s scared to return, fearing further attacks.

Toniann Antonelli and David Matthau contributed to this report

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