Brother of student slammed to ground says school needs to do more to keep kids safe

The older brother of the 14-year-old sent to the hospital after police said he was slammed to the ground at DeLand High School is speaking with FOX 35 News for the first time.

The teenager has injuries to his head and neck, but his family says he's now walking around, talking, and is expected to make a full recovery.

While they're glad he's doing better, the family feels like this could have ended much worse and thinks the school needs to do more to keep kids safe.

"We lend our kids to them thinking they’ll be safe in their hands, but when something like this happens, the school can’t be trusted," said Juan Castillo.

The video is difficult to watch, but investigators say it appears to show 14-year-old Abraham Castillo getting slammed to the ground by an older student. The 17-year-old is now facing a felony. This comes after another fight involving more students.

"I feel like they could be doing more, they could add more deputies," Castillo said. "It’s a crowded school."

The family thinks the school should have separated the students before Abraham was injured. His brother can't help but think this attack could have been deadly.

"Instead of visiting him in the hospital, we could have been seeing him in a casket," Castillo said.

In a statement to FOX 35, the school district wrote that safety is a top priority and that it's trying to add more school resource officers to the high schools.

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