Police say they’ve arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of attacking a boy who was walking to school with his mother Wednesday morning in North Long Beach.
The attack happened around 7:30 a.m. across the street from Harte Elementary School in the area of South Street and Gaviota Avenue, according to the Long Beach Police Department and the Long Beach Unified School District.
The boy was walking to school with his mother when a man abruptly kicked him and then fled the area, authorities said.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene to treat the boy for injuries to his upper body, police said, adding that they did not appear to be life-threatening. His mother also suffered minor injuries, according to LBUSD officials.
The suspect, identified by police as Marcus Bartlett, later returned to the area while police were conducting their investigation and was taken into custody on suspicion of child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon, according to authorities. His bail was set at $30,000, police said.
Details weren’t immediately available about what if any motive there may have been for the attack. A jail booking log lists Bartlett as a transient without a home address.
Parents were notified of the attack Wednesday through an email sent by Harte Elementary Principal Kimberly Carpenter.
“The well-being and safety of students and staff remains our top priority,” Carpenter wrote. “We will stay extra vigilant in the days ahead and School Safety will have additional presence in the area at the beginning and end of the school day.”
The incident comes just a week after some LBUSD parents voiced concerns over the lack of communication from the district about accusations in a lawsuit that a 13-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at John Muir K-9 Academy.
Safety concerns were already heightened for some parents last month after a man wielding a sledgehammer attempted to climb a fence into McKinley Elementary. The man died after being beaten by a group of adults who pulled him down, according to police. His death is being investigated by detectives as a homicide.