School Attack Sparked by South Park Cartoon?

Calabasas - As many as four redheaded students at a Calabasas middle school were assaulted by classmates as part of "kick a ginger day," an Internet spoof apparently inspired by an episode of the "South Park" cartoon, a sheriff's lieutenant said on Monday.

The attacks occurred Friday at A.E. Wright Middle School, 4029 Las Virgenes Road, said sheriff's Lt. Scott Chew of the Malibu-Lost Hills Station.

The first reported victim was a 12-year-old boy in the seventh grade, Chew said. Three other students also may have been attacked, Chew said.

As many as 14 students at A.E. Wright Middle School kicked and hit the 12-year-old, who has red hair and freckles, twice on Friday, said sheriff's Lt. Richard Erickson of the Malibu-Lost Hills station.

The attacks were brief and the student was not seriously injured, Erickson said. All of the attackers appeared to be other seventh or eighth graders at the school, he added.

Authorities were looking into whether the incident might be related to "kick a ginger day," which began last Nov. 20 when some young people circulated messages on the Internet urging people to beat up redheads on that day.

Similar Internet messages were spread on Facebook and other Internet sites this year, Erickson said.

The term "ginger" comes from a "South Park" episode first aired in 2005 that satirized racial intolerance, but did not use the term "kick a ginger day."

Erickson said investigators were looking into whether the attacks were related to scores of messages on Facebook calling for another "National Kick a Ginger Day" this Nov. 20. But he stressed that investigators were not sure Friday's attacks were sparked by the Internet messages.

Anyone with any information about the attack was asked to call the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff's station at (818) 878-5536.