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This story has been updated with a response from HISD.

The Houston chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations sent out a statement Tuesday alleging that three Afghan girls were attacked in the Paul Revere Middle School lunchroom by at least 20 students who beat them and stabbed them with pencils.

The attack allegedly occurred on March 3. CAIR officials said they have been unable to receive a response from Paul Revere Middle School officials and have asked the three girls be transferred to another school.

One girl was beaten so badly CAIR said, that she was hospitalized for four days. Video taken by an onlooker shows an absolutely chaotic scene. A man identified as an assistant principal waded into the middle of the attack and broke it up. It was unknown if any other school personnel were on hand.

The Houston Press attempted to contact HISD about this but as of yet has not received any reply. Update 8:06 p.m. An HISD spokesperson emailed this statement:

“HISD takes the safety of all students very seriously, and the images of this incident do not meet the standards we expect of our students. While some of the details shared in CAIR’s press release do not match the facts of the investigation, the district shares CAIR’s belief that the incident warranted both consequences for the aggressors and care for the victim.

“The seven aggressors in the incident received disciplinary consequences aligned with the district’s code of conduct. The victim in the incident has been offered a school transfer, which is currently in process. The school staff met with the family on March 6th to discuss their concerns. School staff explained that consequences were issued immediately based on the HISD Code of Conduct, and advised the parents of their right to press criminal/assault charges against the students who assaulted their daughter.”

Here is part of the CAIR statement:

“According to the families involved, the girls were sitting at their lunch table when they were surrounded and physically assaulted by at least 20 students. The attackers reportedly used pencils to stab the girls. One student was reportedly beaten so severely that she became unresponsive to teachers and was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in the Medical Center, where she remained for four days. She is now required to wear a neck brace and continues to suffer both physical and emotional trauma from the assault.

“The girls were allegedly attacked based on their ethnicity and discriminated against because they wore the Islamic headscarf (hijab) when the group wrongfully targeted them for what was believed by the families to be a case of mistaken identity over middle school drama in the school.”

According to CAIR, “HISD initially approved the transfer of one student but later rescinded the approval. The girls remain in a state of fear and anxiety, forced to return to the same school environment where they were brutally attacked.”

William White, director of CAIR-Houston wrote in the press release: “It is absolutely unacceptable for any student to be allegedly violently assaulted and then abandoned by the very institution that is supposed to protect them.

“These students came to this country in search of safety and stability—what they endured instead is a complete failure of accountability and compassion. HISD must act immediately to ensure their safety, support their healing, hold the students responsible accountable, and send a clear message that violence and bias will not be tolerated in our schools.”

“We are calling on HISD to immediately approve school transfers for these students so they can learn in a safe environment. We also demand a full, independent investigation into the incident, accountability for all involved—including any staff who failed to act—and trauma-informed support for the victims and their families,” White said. “HISD must also implement strong, clear policies to prevent future acts of violence and discrimination. Our schools should be places of safety and learning, not fear and trauma.”

White also thanked Houston attorney Ahson Patoli for his work on the case and for referring the case to CAIR-Houston.

In March, CAIR released its 2025 Civil Rights Report “Unconstitutional Crackdowns,” which states that “Islamophobia continues to be at an all-time high across the country.”