Transgender student, boyfriend attacked outside Barrington High School; believe incident was a hate crime

BARRINGTON, Ill. (CBS) -- The Orbeez TikTok Challenge is taking place at schools across the country – it involves students shooting soft gel balls from toy guns.

But two students at Barrington High School – a transgender student and his boyfriend - say they feel they were deliberately targeted. The boy and his family believe it was a hate crime.

The Barrington 220 School District held a meeting Friday to address the Challenge, a dangerous new trend that has made its way to the campus. The trend involves people shooting the Orbeez balls at others with an airsoft gun or gel-ball gun.

One of the victims was at the school district board meeting Friday, and said the attack he was a victim of goes beyond any TikTok challenge.

"I'm risking my own safety to live," said Matt Petterson, a transgender junior at Barrington High School, who says he doesn't feel safe in his own school. "I can't even get my own education. It's a survival thing now at school."

Matt said he and his boyfriend were walking to school on Wednesday, when a group of students got out of a car while holding an airsoft rifle, doing the Orbeez TikTok Challenge, on school property.

The trend involves people shooting soft gel Orbeez balls at someone with an airsoft gun or gel-ball gun.

"My boyfriend got shot in the face, and he has a bruise there now," Matt said.

Barrington High School sent a letter, acknowledging students who were victims of this incident are members of the LGBTQ community; and also stating "harassment, bullying, or intimidation of any kind will not be tolerated:"

"That breaks our heart, and we're committed to making sure everyone feels safe and comfortable expressing who they are as an individual in our schools. This is an indication that we need to continue our efforts," District Supt. Dr. Robert Hunt told CBS 2's Shardaa Gray.

Matt's mother, Kristen Petterson, said both she and the school's officer filed a report with the Barrington Police Department.

"This just kind of crosses the line, and I don't feel like it was just a TikTok challenge, because the shooters followed him into the school," she said.

Asked how the district really lets students know such behavior is not tolerated, Hunt said. "If people do things they shouldn't, there's appropriate consequences in place."

"But consequences alone doesn't solve the problem. This is an education that has to take place for all involved," he added.

"There needs to be something done, because clearly what they're doing right now is ending with their students being shot," Matt said.

Police won't say whether Matt was deliberately targeted.  

A Freedom of Information Act request submitted to the Barrington Police Department for this incident was denied, because it remains under investigation.

Matt said, if he doesn't get the safety he requires, he plans to transfer to another school.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been revised. Contrary to an earlier revision, our reporting now tells us there were a number of students hit in the Orbeez TikTok Challenge at Barrington High School, but the school district is not telling us how many. As noted above, the Barrington 220 School District has turned down a public records request seeking the number of students hit.