Teen sucker punched at Lakeview Centennial HS in Garland

A teen is recovering after a premeditated violent attack at a Garland high school that was recorded on a cell phone.

15-year-old sophomore Tristan Holbert was blindsided at Lakeview Centennial High School by a 17-year-old student with a punch to the face that knocked him out cold on Wednesday afternoon.

Holbert said he didn’t fully come-to until he arrived at the hospital.

“I got sucker punched, I didn’t see it coming,” Holbert said.

Tristan said he’s OK despite a fractured nose, sprained ankle and a headache three days later.

“He’s a little bit taller, but I know I could handle him if it wasn’t a sucker punch,” Holbert said.

Armida Martinez got the call no parent wants to get. While she’s thankful her son will recover, she was horrified to see what happened when the video surfaced on Twitter on Thursday.

“I was irate, I was sick to my stomach. I keep watching it because I feel if he could live through it I shouldn’t be weak not to watch it,” Martinez said.

“This is not something we want to see happen to our kids, it’s disturbing to see,” said Garland ISD spokeswoman Tiffany Veno. She said four students were involved.

The 17-year-old punching Tristan has been removed from the school and the other students were immediately ID’d and put on suspension.

“We wanted to take quick action and do right by the family,” Veno said

Tristan’s family recently moved to the area from Los Angeles. This was his first year at the school and he said he isn’t afraid to return despite what he called a “cowardly” and unprovoked attack.

“I forgive him, but it’s going to be hard to move on. It’s easy to forgive but hard to forget.”