Officials at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange said an eighth-grade girl was attacked from behind outside the school Wednesday morning.
The incident was initially thought to be an attempted abduction, but investigators later determined the victim was attacked by the brother of one of her classmates.
School officials said the student was near a bicycle rack on campus when a classmate's older brother came up and knocked her down from behind.
Investigators said the attack was in retaliation after the victim and another female student got into an altercation the week before school reopened.
A maintenance worker saw the attack and ran to try and help the girl, and the attacker took off running, investigators said.
School staff quickly called 911. Both Port Orange police and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office responded. The sheriff's office took the lead of the investigation, since it happened on the campus of a Volusia County school.
School officials said the victim was shaken up but fine. Her parents arrived shortly after the incident.
Deputies did not immediately identify the attacker, but said he would likely be charged with assault and battery.
Silver Sands Middle School does not have a school resource officer on campus, and one parent called Wednesday's incident a wake-up call.
"I have a sixth-grade daughter who is very naive," said Heather Dewey, who said the school should "maybe have a police presence for a while, just to avoid it from happening again."
The school was not placed on lockdown after the incident.