2 Arrested In Connection With Dublin High School Assault

DUBLIN, CA — Two suspects were arrested in connection with an Aug. 23 assault that left a 14-year-old Dublin High School student with a concussion, broken nose, and black eye.

Gerald Coats, 18, was arrested on charges of felony assault, child abuse, and trespassing, Dublin Police Services announced Friday afternoon. A 17-year-old was also arrested on charges of felony assault.

Police said Coats is a former student of the Dublin Unified School District and may be acquainted with the victim, who was identified in several news reports as freshman football player Dasanni Barfield.

The 17-year-old suspect is a former DHS student who has a familial relationship to a female student involved in the incident, and to her mother, according to police. Police said that there appear to have been previous conflicts between Barfield, the female student, and her mother.

Barfield and his mother Cherie told various news outlets that the girl and her mother approached him outside the locker room, and that the mother used the N-word.

Four other students, aged 16-19, dressed in hoodies and masks, then approached from both sides of the mother.

According to reports from both Barfield and the Dublin Police Services, Barfield fled into the locker room, and the other attackers, including the girl and her mother, followed him. The assault took place in the locker room.

Police said that the girl and her mother were not involved in the physical attack, and as of Friday afternoon, it does not appear that the mother coordinated the attack.

Dublin Police Services' School Resource Officers continue to investigate by reviewing video footage and interviewing witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to contact DPS at 925-833-6670.

Cherie Barfield, owner of Cherie's Southern Kitchen in Dublin, said she was not notified by the school about the attack, and rushed to the school to find her son alone and bleeding. She told Bay City News that she has hired an attorney.

Dublin High School said it is increasing adult presence in the locker room, and has closed off the hallway leading to the locker room. DUSD Superintendent Chris Funk said the district is reviewing its security procedures.

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• Dublin High School Student Assaulted In Locker Room: Police
• Dublin High School Victim Suffered Concussion, Broken Nose: Reports