VIDE condemns students’ beating of St. Croix school bus driver

KINGSHILL — The Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) expresses grave concern regarding “an unfortunate and unacceptable incident of violence that occurred today, involving four male students from the St. Croix Central High School.’

This afternoon, while traveling on Bus #27 from the high school to the Strawberry and East End areas, the students violently assaulted the bus driver, endangering not only the driver’s life but also the safety of other students on the bus. The driver was viciously beaten in the back of his head and face, and the students shattered the glass on the bus door during the assault. The VIDE condemns this behavior in the strongest possible terms and wants to make it absolutely clear that it has a zero-tolerance policy for violence of any kind.

Such actions that endanger lives, whether of school staff or students, are entirely unacceptable. As a result of today’s incident, Bus #27 will be suspended from operation pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation. The bus sustained significant damage, and the VIDE is working closely with Abramson Enterprises Inc., the contracted bus vendor, to assess the situation.