10-year-old charged with assault after dodgeball game at school
A 10-year-old boy from Canton, Michigan, has been charged with aggravated assault after injuring another student during a schoolyard dodgeball game. The child's mother, Cameishi Triplett Lindley, said on April 30, her son Bryce was suspended from Erikkson Elementary School "for throwing a ball back at a student during recess, while playing a game called TIPS/ DODGEBALL," she posted on Facebook.
Lindley said the ball Bryce threw allegedly resulted in the other student having a concussion. "After meeting with the Principal about why Bryce was suspended while the other students who fully participated in this game were not, the Principal disclosed that the injured student has a pre-existing condition," Lindley wrote.
She was told the student had chronic brain stem infliction. "Clearly, this student should not have been playing a physical contact sport," she wrote. A few months after her son's suspension, Lindely learned that her son was being charged with aggravated assault in the 3rd Circuit Juvenile Court in Detroit, Michigan.
"I'm just as shocked as those of you reading our story," Lindley wrote in the Facebook post, which was a fundraiser to help them with legal expenses. "Nonetheless, I am asking for your assistance in securing a Lawyer for Bryce. He is scheduled to appear next week in court on 8/1. The Attorney fees are $4,000. Thank each of you for your help and prayers."
According to a police report filled after the incident, Bryce intentionally threw the ball at the boy's face.
"He sustained facial issue damage to his face. He had a black eye and a bruised nose," a parent at the school told local station WXYZ-TV.
The mother of the boy who was hit with the ball told WXYZ-TV she sought legal action because this was not the first time her son has been targeted. She said she reported a prior incident to the school in in mid-April.
"My son was hit twice in the face with a ball previously due to this. The child apologized to my son and my son said 'Mom, it's OK, we're still going to be friends,'" the mother, who remained anonymous, told the station. However, the incident on April 29th was the final straw, she said. She was worried for her child's safety.
Lindley said she was not aware of any of the previous incidents and is sorry the other child got hurt. She said she wishes problems like this could be solved in the classroom — not the courtroom.
CBS News has reached out to Lindley and the school for more information.