A white student who stands accused of brutally beating a black teacher’s assistant was released without bail on Wednesday, the Star-Tribune reports.

Corey David Burfield, 18, of St. Paul , is charged with one count of first-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault. He was allowed to go home after his mother said she would watch him, and was allowed to leave jail without posting any bail.

ADVERTISEMENT

The victim, Mohammed Dukuly, had worked for the school for about 10 years. He was well-liked by students, some of whom told the Star-Tribune that “nobody ever put hands on Dukuly.”

According to reports of the the attack at Harrison Education Center, Burfield knocked him to the ground and punched him several times, leaving him unresponsive. Dukuly had been in ICU on a ventilator but is now opening his eyes and moving his arms and legs.

“Quite frankly, we are disappointed,” Imam Mohammed Dukuly, the victim’s uncle, told reporters after the court appearance. “For a serious case like this, I think he should’ve been on bail.”