Blame it on the media violence that the population is exposed to daily on the web, in film, TV and/or video games; or blame it on youthful ignorance. But the way we treat our fellow humans seems to be deteriorating by leaps and bounds. As is the unfortunate case of one 11-year old student from Gulf Middle School in New Port Richey, FL who fashioned a home-made flame thrower and now stands accused of attempting to set a fellow student on fire in a school bathroom stall on Friday, February 3.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the 11-year-old assailant aimed a can of Old Spice body spray at the victim and lit the spraying stream.
The victim was trapped in the bathroom stall "and could not run from the flame," a report states.
Fortunately, the victim was not seriously harmed – escaping with singed arm hair and some discoloring to his pants which caught on fire, but only briefly.
One additional extenuating circumstance in this case may be attributed to the fact that both students were in the same Special Education program at Gulf Middle School. But the mother of the victim contends that some of the students from the school are out of control.
… the attack doesn't appear to have a clear reason or target, and was likely done simply for entertainment.
The victim's mother Michelle Craig said she fears for her son's safety.
"You expect your child to go to school and be safe, you know, and they're not," she told the station.
"You don't know whether your kid is going to come home or what." ~ per WTSP-TV
The 11-year-old suspect was arrested Friday afternoon, charged with aggravated battery, and taken into juvenile custody.
For additional information regarding this incident, see the video report accompanying this article.
Also see:
- Parents of bullied teen who committed suicide suing school district
- School yard fight takes vicious turn as 1 teen gets airlifted to Shock Trauma
(Lead: Carla Ives, Atlantic City Pop Media Examiner)
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