BELLEVILLE — A Belleville West High School student was beaten aboard a bus on

the way to school Monday, and a police spokesman said the beating could be

racially motivated.



The 17-year-old victim was white and the teen assailants were black. Police

released a video of the beating, which shows the victim being punched

repeatedly while other students on the bus gather to watch, some cheering. It

doesn't appear that the victim did anything to provoke an attack and tried only

to defend himself. Police said it all unfolded in a five-minute span.



The victim was trying to find a seat and was told by two students he could not

sit next to them, police said. When he did sit down, one teen tried to push him

out of his seat then began grabbing the victim's neck and punching him in the

face.



The victim eventually returned to his seat, but another student began taunting

him a few minutes later. The victim was then struck in the face.



It was unclear what, if anything, the bus driver did to stop the attack.

Students intervened to help the victim both times.



"In my estimation, it's racially motivated," said Capt. Don Sax of the

Belleville Police Department. He said one reason he had formed this opinion was

that many of the students, most of whom were black, yelled their support for

the beating.



"There was absolutely no justification for the beating either time," Sax said.



Two teens were taken into custody; authorities will apply for charges today.

Both students have been suspended, said Superintendent Greg Moats.



He also said there had been no racial problems at the school and said that he

wanted to talk further with police to determine why they believe race could

have been a motivator in the fight. He also said the school will do everything

possible to make sure students are safe, but he wouldn't elaborate.



Greg Jonsson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.