Dad Caught on Video Punching Someone Else’s 7-Year-Old in the Stomach at School: Police

Recent video surveillance footage from a Washington, D.C., charter school shows a parent punching someone else’s 7-year-old student in the stomach for no clear reason, according to authorities.

The man was caught last week on the school’s surveillance cameras approaching the little boy and punching him in the stomach, before walking away as the child fell to his knees in pain.

The incident took place Wednesday morning at KIPP DC Spring Academy. School officials tell PEOPLE the parent was in the hallway to drop off his child and has since been banned from entering the building.

To protect the identity of his child, the suspect is not being identified.

Metro police are investigating the incident, a spokesperson tells PEOPLE. The parent has not been arrested.

The school reportedly said in a letter to parents, in part, “The health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff remains our No. 1 priority and we will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that students and staff are safe at school.”

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Moments after the incident, Spring Academy’s principal found the boy and took him to the school nurse, where he told them what happened, officials said. His mother was immediately contacted.

Speaking to ABC30, the mom said she and the parent who hit her son have only ever had positive interactions.

“You watched my son on that ground and you didn’t do nothing … and all you could say to me is you was playing,” the mom told the station. (Reached Tuesday, she was not immediately able to comment to PEOPLE.)

“You don’t bully a child, you don’t torment a child. I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t do that to none of your kids,” the mom told ABC30. “I’ll feel much better when he is locked up.”

Her son also spoke to the station: “I was in the hallway, the day was on Wednesday and then somebody punched me in my stomach. It made my stomach real painful.”