A group of school bullies brutally attacked a helpless little boy, beating him so badly that he passed out and suffered a life-threatening brain injury. However, even after the bullies were identified, police informed the victim’s parents that not one of them would face charges.
Just as the school day was starting, 8-year-old Christian Boynton was found unconscious, bloodied and battered on the bathroom floor at Lakewood Elementary School. His family was immediately contacted, and the third-grader was rushed to Tomball Hospital in the Dallas Metropolitan area.
Christian was quickly transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital when doctors discovered a life-threatening brain bleed. Neurologists treated his brain injury and monitored him for several hours before the resilient little boy was released to return home. Incredibly, he was physically going to be okay.
Angry and confused, Christian’s family demanded answers from school officials. Disturbingly, the school had to explain to the concerned parents that their little boy was clinging to life because of a group of pre-pubescent bullies.
According to KHOU, a group of 3 third-graders ambushed Christian in the school bathroom before class, beating him even after he fell unconscious. However, despite his serious injuries from what was clearly assault, the police were forced to tell the desperate family that the bullies who nearly killed their little boy wouldn’t face charges because they are all under the age of 10, which is too young to be criminally culpable under Texas law.
Christian’s 21-year-old sister, Kailee Boynton, posted updates to social media concerning her little brother’s recovery. Regrettably, she shared the horrific details of the child’s potentially fatal attack.
“They pinned my brother down. They were beating him. They beat him to the point of unconsciousness, where they continued to beat him,” Kailee said. “They went through his backpack.”
“He was [diagnosed] with a subdural hematoma — he was bleeding from his brain,” she wrote on Facebook. “He was transferred to Texas Children’s via ambulance and treated there. After several hours of observation he was allowed to come home.”
Most disappointingly, Kailee shared the unsatisfactory response from Lakewood Elementary school officials. Disturbingly, the school appeared to downplay the serious assault, labeling it an “isolated incident” and claiming that the students didn’t pose a threat to the safety of students on campus.
“This was an isolated incident between a few students and at no time posed a threat to the safety of our students or campus,” the letter reads. “This week, there was an incident involving a group of our students in a restroom on campus, resulting in one student being taken by his parents to be seen by medical professionals. The student was released home later that day. While we are equally saddened and disheartened by the actions of our students, our investigation shows that, contrary to media reports, at no time was a student left alone unconscious in the restroom. He was evaluated by the nurse immediately.”
Tomball Police are investigating the attack but have turned their focus toward school officials, since the suspects are too young to be prosecuted. Child Protective Services is also participating in the investigation to determine any other risk factors.
“Details of a school investigation by CPS are confidential, but, in a situation like this we would investigate to determine if the children were being supervised properly when the alleged incident happened. Once our investigation is complete, we turn the results over to the school district and the TEA,” said Tiffani Butler, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
When asked if the students who attacked Christian will at least be punished by the school, a spokesperson explained that they “are not at liberty to discuss disciplinary actions or punishment.” They added that, according to FERPA and HIPAA laws, they will not be allowed to divulge whether the students will be held responsible.
Incredibly, Christian Boynton is recovering both physically and emotionally at an astounding rate. In fact, Kailee explained that he even defended his attackers, pointing out that “maybe they’re just having a rough day.” She says that he “can’t even fathom the fact that someone would want to hurt him or be cruel to him” for any reason.
Although Christian seems to be doing the best he possibly can, it’s disheartening to think that his attackers might get away with what could’ve been a fatal assault. What’s more disturbing is that, if they get away with this, there’s no telling what they’ll do next time.
