Hoping to help put an end to the bullying inflicted on a Cape Breton boy, dozens of burly bikers gathered Wednesday to give him a ride to school.
Katie Laybolt told CTV News her 10-year-old son Xander has been bullied by almost every student at Harbourside Elementary in Sydney, N.S.
"It's been crazy. He's gotten jumped on the bus, clothing ripped off his back. He's been told to go die in a hole," she said.
"He thinks the whole school hates him. He was assigned a project for Grade 4, it's a writing project, and it asks about his best memories this year at Harbourside. My son looked at me and asked, 'Are they kidding?'" she told The Cape Breton Post.
Laybolt tried talking to other parents, children's aid groups, the school and school board, but nothing helped, she said.
Not knowing where else to turn, she contacted Defenders of Children, a non-profit U.S. children's advocacy group that helps abused and bullied children.
The group took Laybolt's request to their local chapter in Fredericton, N.B., who in turn put out the call for local bikers to help support Xander.
Cape Breton biker groups answered the call, and on Wednesday morning, dozens congregated at a nearby shopping mall, before swinging by Xander's house to give him an escorted ride to school.
"I'm hoping he knows, from now on, if somebody bullies him, he's got somebody to go to," one the bikers, Mike Basso, told CTV. "He can look on the corner on any street. He's going to find a leather vest. He's now one of our brothers."
For years, motorcycle enthusiasts across Canada have been showing their support for bullied and abused children.
One group, Bikers Against Child Abuse, has been known to act as courthouse escorts for children who have to testify in child abuse trials.