Violent bullying incident in Urbana caught on video

URBANA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Several middle school students are facing disciplinary action after a young teen was bullied and then violently attacked in Urbana.

The incident was captured on cell-phone video, which has now made the rounds on social media.

And now, the alleged bullies could be facing criminal charges for making threats at the school.

The video shows several students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades surrounding a classmate.

One of the boys in the circle accuses the child in the middle of "snitching" - and then the interrogation quickly escalates.

The victim tries to move away, but the attackers chase him up a hill and then across a roadway. The video ends with the victim on the ground pleading for them to stop.

Frederick County Public Schools spokesman Michael Doerrer says the incident happened off school grounds on Wednesday.

And administrators quickly worked to identify at least two of the attackers.

"It's a serious thing and it hurts to see that as someone involved in education and as a parent," Doerrer said.

By Friday, Doerrer says, the same students faced disciplinary action in the district after they posted threats to the school on their social media pages, prompting an expanded police presence on the campus.

"They just made insinuation about the safety of the school, but we take any threat extremely seriously, whether it's an offhand comment or threat on social media we treat it as a legitimate threat, we follow up and investigate to make sure our schools are safe," Doerrer said.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is now investigating the incident - and the students could face criminal charges on top of disciplinary action at the school.

The boy in the video was not seriously hurt.