Police Allege Man Punched Sixth-Grader in Racist Hate Crime
A white man in Washington has been arrested and placed on a $500,000 bail after allegedly targeting and attacking a Black sixth-grade student walking with classmates during a field trip.
Paul Jonathan Bittner, 42, has been charged with malicious harassment and the assault of a child in the second-degree, according to the Whatcom County Jail.
During a walking field trip to a nearby film center Wednesday, students from Whatcom Middle School, part of the Bellingham School District, were near the Bellingham Police Department when Bittner allegedly joined in with their group, according to a statement issued from the school.