Police will likely press criminal charges against an 11-year-old for three bullying incidents at James Fitzgerald Elementary School, said Detective Sgt. Tim King yesterday.
Police are still investigating the alleged bullying, which City Councilor Tom Curtin called "very serious" and scary at last week's School Committee meeting.
The case involves a single suspect, a fifth-grader, and the victims are all 11 years old, King said.
The prosecutor is still reviewing the case, King said, so he cannot yet provide additional details.
Fitzgerald Principal Alice Shull could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Christine Iannuzzo, president of the Fitzgerald Parent-Teacher Organization, said, "I do not feel comfortable commenting on this story, as I do not know all the facts."
"My children have not had an experience with bullying at Fitzgerald," Iannuzzo said.
Curtin, Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, who heads the School Committee, and other committee members said they have been getting phone calls from parents of Fitzgerald students, worried about bullying there.
After hearing about the incidents from parents, McCarthy said she contacted the police to investigate.
Neither police nor school officials can discuss at this point the nature of the bullying, only that it was "serious enough to call the police," Curtin said.
Curtin and committee members said they worry the bullying was not a few isolated incidents, but a systemic problem in Waltham schools, possibly stemming from large student populations in consolidated buildings.
Joyce Kelly can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jkelly@cnc.com.
