A teenage football player made it clear to his teammates that his serious peanut allergy could kill him before they intentionally put peanuts in his locker.
The family of Carter Mannon filed a lawsuit against the Lake Travis Independent School District on April 6 after the 16-year-old suffered a traumatic incident at Lake Travis High School, Texas, back in October.
The filing states that the sophomore warned his teammates that he couldn't go to Texas Roadhouse with them because he was deathly allergic to peanuts.
"[Carter] candidly responded that any of these actions could indeed result in his death and even showed his teammates the epi-pen he always carries as a precaution," the lawsuit stated, as cited by The New York Post.
After learning about Carter's allergy, two boys - called "Student G and Student B" in the 30-page document - questioned the severity of Carter's disability, so they placed peanuts in his locker, his cleats, and even the inside of his jersey - all while recording the act, per the outlet.
The following day, Student G allegedly began throwing fistfuls of peanuts at the teen after he arrived at the school - but he fortunately managed to avoid it. During this time, Carter also overheard his name and saw Student B laughing as he showed his teammates a video on his phone.
Moments later, the offensive lineman opened his locker door and discovered peanuts. "When he retrieved his uniform, he found it, along with his cleats, covered in peanuts, which triggered an allergic reaction," the lawsuit states.
Thankfully, Carter avoided an anaphylactic shock as he washed his hands immediately but he suffered "hives on his arm for several days," per the filing.
He reported the incident to the school, which turned discipline over to the athletic department. The boys involved were benched for two days, and forced to switch locker rooms and do extra runs at practice, according to PEOPLE.
Carter's mom, Shawna Mannon, has alleged that the school district failed to properly address the incident or stop the ruthless harassment her son faced.
"Despite [Carter’s] efforts to seek help from school authorities, LTISD was deliberately indifferent to the ongoing bullying, failing to intervene or provide accommodations, properly supervise students, and staff, or enforce disciplinary measures mandated by state law for students committing assault," the lawsuit notes.
She also met with a series of school coaches and administrators and complained that the two boys never faced serious punishment for their attack.
However, the district disagreed with the filing, claiming it carried out a thorough internal investigation. "We take all allegations of bullying and harassment seriously. We responded immediately when we learned of this situation, conducting a thorough investigation," they said.
"The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority," they continued, adding that the incident didn’t meet "the legal definition" of bullying.
Carter allegedly faced a lot of bullying in the following months, including the creation of a series of anonymous social media pages targeted at his family.
According to the document, Student G - who Shawna's lawyers claim was not disciplined because he was a star on the team - allegedly continued to mock Carter that he was untouchable.
"Undeterred by LTISD’s lack of response, Student G has continued to boast about what he refers to as his 'attempted murder' of [Carter] He has escalated his threatening verbal assaults against [Carter], boasting that he is a 'killer' who would prevail against any charges brought against him by [Carter] or his family," the lawsuit states.
The teen ended up switching schools to "escape the harassment" after "enduring six months of assault, harassment, and bullying," and his family is also in the process of selling the home and moving out of the district.
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