Investigation launched after video of kids bullying bus monitor goes viral

GREECE N.Y. - A group of New York students were caught on camera bullying a woman.

Now, the video of verbal abuse has gone viral. The video has more than 100,000 views n YouTube.

While one student records, others Greece Athena school can be heard calling bus monitor Karen Klein “fat,” calling her other names, making fun of her deceased mother and even threatening her life.

Klein, 68, says the comments hurt. She didn’t realize how bad the taunting was until she watched the video.

“I tried to ignore them,” Klein said in an interview with WHAM. “That's why I didn't hear some of the stuff, because I was trying to shut them out."

"It's kind of scary,” Klein told WROC. “I never thought anything like this would ever happen."

Klein, a grandmother, has been working in the district for 23 years, but felt like she had few options that day.

"If you yank the phone out, you get in trouble,” she said in her interview with WROC. “I thought I would just let them go and I just tried to ignore ‘em.”

But one comment was especially hurtful. It referred to sucide. Klein’s oldest son took his own life 10 years ago.

Her daughter, Michelle Hawkins, broke down when talking to WHAM about it.

"I don't really want to say this,” Hawkins said. “But they said something like, you're so fat and ugly, your kids should probably--or probably will kill themselves."

The district has launched an investigation and found other videos on YouTube.

They are working to identify the students-- and say they will be disciplined.

"I think they should have some form of punishment,” Klein told WHAM. “I don't even know if they can even be charged."

Greece police are also investigating, but at the same time, are concerned about the safety of the students involved.

People have been posting their names and addresses online.

"There are people showing up here angry,” Greece Police Capt. Steve Chatterton told WROC. “We understand that. Give us time to look into the investigation. Please don't jump to conclusions. These are 13, 12-year-old kids."

Klein also remembers one of the students hitting her.

"I only felt them hit me once,” she told WHAM. “It wasn't hard or anything, ya know, but I saw in the film that it was more than once."

The district has received angry e-mails from people as far away as Australia.

Klein has been getting messages on Facebook and flowers from strangers

On Twitter, people are showing support by using the hashtag #TeamKaren.

Klein says she hopes the kids on this tape learn a lesson from this.

"I hope you never do it again to anybody else."

Officials involved in the investigation were expected to hold a news conference on Thursday.