Dakota Lamb: Bullying Story Goes Viral

A photo shows a child’s hair that has been cut by bullies, and includes the story of a young girl’s plight on a school bus. We’ll take a look at the story and the photo:

The story is true.

First let’s look at the image and the description being shared on social media today:

PLEASE DONT IGNORE!!!!! PLEASE READ AND SHARE. this is what happened to my cousin’s daughter on friday on her bus ride home from school. im asking everyone’s for help hit like on her story and share this in hopes of getting her story out there to help it get noticed so something will be done about it.

My 7 year old daughter has been getting bullied on the bus (GO AHEAD bus company) as well as on the school grounds at St. Louis Charter School (SLCS). I am so sickened that nothing has been done about any of the bullying on their end, and I’m simply fed up. My child, Dakota Lamb, came home from school today and I noticed that the entire back of her hair had been drastically chopped with the shortest layer being about an inch from her scalp at the top of her head. I am so livid that my child was assaulted by a deadly weapon when the 4th-8th grade students (yes, that’s plural) took scissors to her head on a moving bus while picking on her. Please help us put an end to the violence and bullying in this school. I want everyone to know the wrongs that are not being righted in this school and on the buses of this bus company!!

The incident was reported on the evening of January 21, 2012 on News 4 KMOV in St. Louis.

It was reported that 7-year-old Dakota Lamb’s hair was cut using scissors by several older students on the bus, who also punched her in the stomach. There were no cameras installed on the bus, and the child’s mother, Brianna Lamb, has talked to police, school officials, and the bus company. Charges have been filed but KMOV reports that “police are still sorting out the details.”

Typically when we see a caption in all caps that reads “PLEASE DON’T IGNORE!!!!!”  it ends up being a hoax or phony warning. In this case, however, the story is true and reported in the mainstream press.

Social Media

The image of the back of Dakota’s hair received nearly 100,000 shares within 24 hours of being posted on Facebook, prompting some rather angry comments on bullying. There has also been debate as to whether taking the case to the public forum of Facebook was a wise move or not. Whether or not the Facebook rant led to the story being picked up by the press is unknown, but it certainly has garnered considerable attention to the incident.

Video

Below is the video report from KMOV, in which Brianna Lamb is interviewed about the event.