Fredericton high school student speaks up after video of bullying incident goes viral

A high school student in Fredericton is speaking out against bullying after a video of her being attacked garnered much attention online.

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Fourteen-year-old Nelly Price,  said she was attacked Monday afternoon near Leo Hayes High School. Price and another female student are seen standing face-to-face and Price can be heard saying, “I have no reason to fight you. I don’t want to fight.”

The two-minute video then shows Nelly Price being attacked by the other student while several bystanders watch the scenario unfold, filming the incident.

Nelly Price’s mother Jennifer Price told Global News her daughter was attacked, hit multiple times in the head and was kicked. She said Nelly suffered a concussion, facial bruising and has been having trouble sleeping.

“The emotional side of things it’s been tough,” Jennifer Price said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The emotional side of things it's been tough," Jennifer Price said.

The ninth grader told Global News Wednesday she’s doing better but she wants people to understand the impact of bullying. Nelly Price wants to raise awareness about the issue to prevent other teens from experiencing similar incidents.

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“Sometimes bullying leads people to suicide…like how many more suicides does it take for people to realize that what you say hurts, what you do hurts, what your actions do, it affects everybody,” Nelly Price said.

Nelly Price’s aunt posted the video to Facebook after the incident to raise awareness.

Other students can be seen recording the video and even encouraging the girls to fight.

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The family said they aren’t angry with the girl who attacked Nelly.  They said they want her to know it’s not too late to turn things around.

“We’re forgiving because we don’t want hate.  We want healing for her and for Janelle (Nelly) and for everyone else whose been through this,” Jennifer Price said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're forgiving because we don't want hate.  We want healing for her and for Janelle (Nelly) and for everyone else whose been through this," Jennifer Price said.

Jennifer Price said there needs to be more conversations about bullying and more groups created to address bullying.

“Parents need to come forward the minute they see any type of bullying  – don’t wait – come forward and deal with it right away,” Jennifer Price said.

Nelly Price is taking some time off school and her mother said the school has been extremely supportive.

Fredericton Police spokesperson Alycia Bartlett said they are aware of the video and are investigating.

In an email statement to Global News, Anglophone West School District Director of Communications Jason Humphrey said all schools in the district are committed to ensuring schools are safe.

The school board said they have positive behaviour intervention strategies and appropriate support is offered to all students involved in these types of situations.

Humphrey writes, “what can be said is that Leo Hayes High School and all the schools in the district are committed to ensuring school is a safe and caring learning and teaching environment for all students and staff.”

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Humphrey said they are aware of the video and police have been notified, but said were unable to comment further due to privacy issues.

“Bystander Effect”

Many social media comments question why no one stepped in to help Price.

University of New Brunswick psychology PhD candidate Erin Dejung said there are many reasons why other students didn’t try to stop the attack.  She said she was initially shocked to see the video.

“Whenever we see something happening and we’re unsure what to do, especially when there’s people around, we assume that someone else will take action and that’s really what we call the ‘bystander effect’,” Dejung said.  “Basically, the more people around, the less likely we are to intervene when we see something happening such as bullying or other negative things like that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Whenever we see something happening and we're unsure what to do, especially when there's people around, we assume that someone else will take action and that's really what we call the 'bystander effect'," Dejung said.  "Basically, the more people around, the less likely we are to intervene when we see something happening such as bullying or other negative things like that."

She said most cases of bullying are verbal not physical, but adds there are many reasons why bystanders don’t intervene.