The head of Vista Unified School District issued a statement Friday asking the community for patience as the district continues to investigate allegations of misconduct by Vista High School football players against a 14-year-old boy in a locker room.

In a roughly 4-minute, 30-second video, Superintendent Matt Doyle said the purpose of the investigation “is to determine who knew what, when, who was a bystander, who was involved, and where responsibility belongs.”

“Please have patience as we manage this complex and emotionally charged situation and as we do our work,” he said.

Video that shows some of the locker room encounter was widely shared on social media.

In his statement, Doyle described the incident as an assault, but said it was not a sexual assault. He said the district is looking into behavior beyond what happened in the locker room.

“We have an obligation to determine whether or not this type of conduct was an isolated occurrence,” Doyle said.

Doyle said the conduct in the video was “utterly unacceptable.”

“The video of students physically taunting and assaulting a fellow classmate, a teammate, caused our school community incredible pain, anger, and sadness,” he said. “Sadness and disgust are precisely the reactions I had when I saw students treating one another in such a cruel manner.”

Doyle’s recorded statement comes after a tumultuous week for the campus and school district. As the video spread, so did demands among community members for justice for the teen boy. Several people gathered Wednesday for a protest in front of Vista High.

The superintendent applauded community support for the boy but chided the demonstrators for a rally “that turned threatening.”

On Thursday, Vista High’s principal pointed to the protest behavior when he said all after-school activities for the rest of the week were canceled. The Panthers football team — varsity, junior varsity and freshmen — forfeited their games this week.

The recorded incident was one of two reports of possible student misconduct at the school on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

In the short video, the boy, who is shirtless and wearing shorts and socks, is picked up and carried into a room where he is pushed to the floor. He is surrounded by other teens, one of whom is holding what looks like a wooden broom handle. It is unclear what, if anything, is done with it.

The video ends with someone helping the boy up and shoving him out of the room.

“The behavior, the mistreatment, the lack of compassion and respect for a fellow human being is intolerable,” Doyle said. “Thus far, several students have been disciplined.”

Earlier this week, Doyle confirmed that three students had been removed from the team and suspended from the school. A walk-on football coach was let go, and the head coach was put on leave pending the investigation.

Doyle said the conclusion that the teen was not sexually assaulted follows an investigation by the district and a separate review by law enforcement. The inquiries, Doyle said, included speaking with the victim and his family.

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