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The parents of a teenager say he’s lucky to be alive after being hospitalized following an attack by a group of fellow students at a New Jersey school.
The beating at the 9th Grade Academy in Trenton happened June 14th of this week on what was the last day of school, the boy’s parents told NBC10 sister station Telemundo62 in an exclusive interview. Neither the boy nor the parents wished to be identified for fear of further reprisals.
The attack was caught on video and showed a group of students punching, kicking and stomping on the boy as he was on the ground and up against a chain-link fence.
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The family shared images with Telemundo62 showing the teen wearing a neck brace at the hospital, with welts and bruises on his body, including a large welt on his forehead. “I feel bad watching everything they did to my son,” his mother said through tears.
After the attack, his mother said, her son also received two messages via Instagram that said the beating was just the beginning and that the perpetrators would kill the boy.
It’s unclear what prompted the attack, but the victim’s parents said he may have drawn the ire of other students because he regularly stands up for fellow Hispanic students who get mocked at the school.
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Trenton Public Schools, the district overseeing the 9th Grade Academy, said in an email that officials were working to identify the attackers and to send their information to the Trenton Police Department.
“We want justice because we don’t want other children to get hurt,” the boy’s father said.
