(PANAMA CITY, Fla.) (AP) - Eight Florida Panhandle students have been expelled for their involvement in a violent gang initiation ritual caught on video in a middle school bathroom.
The decision was made Wednesday in an expulsion hearing closed to the public.
A video of the incident shows a 13-year-old boy allowing a group of students to punch him as others watch at Mowat Middle School in Panama City. Investigators say the boy was trying to join a local teen gang.
The Bay County Sheriff's Office says the teen and six boys who pummeled him were charged with causing, encouraging, soliciting or recruiting criminal gang membership.
Information about the expulsions is largely being kept confidential. Board members looked at each case individually and allowed four students to return.
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