Linden Firefighters Give Boy, 12, New Shoes After School Bus Bullying

LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Firefighters in Linden, New Jersey went above and beyond recently to help a young boy who has been bullied on the school bus.

As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, the Linden Fire Department gave the one seventh grader a gift hopefully to last a lifetime.

Jonathan Moran, 12, of Elizabeth has a new pair of Nike gym shoes – gold and black with crimson and light blue. To many, they just look like basketball shoes, but to Jonathan, they mean a lot more.

"I love them a lot," he said.

On Thursday, Jonathan said he was bullied on the bus to school.

"They started making fun of my sneakers and calling me fat, plus he called me stupid," he said.

And when he got on the bus to go home, it escalated.

"He started punching me. He broke my glasses, split my lip, and he gave me bruises around my face," Jonathan said.

Linden firefighters and emergency medical technicians responded to the scene for a fight on the bus, and drove Jonathan home after treating him.

"We came back from the call, and it just struck a chord in my heart, and I was telling the guys what happened," said Linden firefighter-EMT Brian Paster. "We decided to get the kid some shoes."

The firefighters surprised Jonathan at his home this past weekend – not only with sneakers, but also a T-shirt, socks, and a wooden American flag.

"A negative thing turned into a positive thing," said firefighter-EMT Danny Diaz. "He's a little bit more outgoing. He was so happy. His mother said he's more talkative."

"Normally, Jonathan acts out when he's called a name or something like that," added Jonathan's mother, Hope Moran. "It's one of his triggers."

Jonathan has autism, and has only been at his new school for a week or so. His mother said he has been bullied in the past, and is proud of how he handled himself this time.

"He's gotten in trouble in the past, so to have all this positive attention this time, perhaps it's going to change the direction of his life," Hope Moran said.

And with Halloween around the corner, Jonathan has a really good idea for a costume – which may eventually turn into a career.

"Be a fireman or in the military," he said.

Jonathan said he forgives the classmate who bullied him, and has even invited him to dinner so they can hopefully be friends.