A 14-year-old Tujunga teenager claimed his classmates attacked him and called him racial slurs for months before he was arrested following a knife attack at Verdugo Hills High School Month.

“Make no mistake, this is a case of racism,” said attorney Brad Gage.

Gage shared a video of the 14-year-old being attacked and beaten in a school bathroom in late August. He said school officials and the teen’s mother met after the incident.

“They don’t care,” she said. “They didn’t do anything to the other child and that’s what I’m most upset about. They just sat there and didn’t notice anything.”

The 14-year-old’s lawyers said there are very few African-American students at Verdugo Hills. They added that almost from the first day of class in August, the boy was targeted by Latino students who called him racial slurs, physically attacked him and threatened to stab him.

“The school wanted to force my child out right after the incident where he was attacked in the bathroom,” said the boy’s mother. “They wanted him to leave the school without taking disciplinary action against the students who caused the problem themselves. They didn’t do anything, so I said no. My son will stay here, he’s fine.”

The mother believes the situation escalated to what happened on campus on December 9th because nothing was done to her son’s attackers. Gage said it started in the schoolyard, where his client was again thrown to the ground, beaten and called a racist epithet by two students.

“At some point, others who are part of the group or gang come and chase our client with a large butcher knife – and try to kill him,” Gage said.

A video shows someone shouting: “He has a knife!”

Gage said his client tried to defend himself when two others were stabbed. They suffered non-life-threatening injuries. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the 14-year-old was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. He filed a preliminary government lawsuit against Verdugo Hills High School and the district for failing to protect the 14-year-old.

“The school’s failure to act properly in August and September led to a stabbing in December,” Gage said.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said in a statement that it does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.

“My son is a good, smart boy,” said the mother. “My son was in a situation where he could have been killed. I still feel like he can be killed because he can’t come back here because of everything that happened.”