6-Year-Old Boy Ends Up In Hospital After Confronting Group Of Kids Bullying His Friend

In Olympia, Washington, a 6-year-old boy claims he was assaulted after trying to protect his friend from a group of bullies, reports KOMO News.

Carter English says he was attacked by a group of kids around his age at his Olympia apartment complex Wednesday afternoon. He says he confronted the group for bullying his friend.

“They were just bullying him, like beating him up. I just told them to stop… and then they did it to me.”

Carter ended up in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Friday with a broken arm, lacerated eye, and various cuts and bruises on his face after the bullies beat him with rocks and sticks and rubbed sawdust in his eyes. He needed surgery to repair the eye laceration.

Carter’s mom, Dana English, was in tears at the hospital as she spoke to KOMO News.

“It’s been hell. I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten. I can’t do anything. I can’t even leave his side.”

Olympia Police have started an investigation and have identified a 5-year-old child who started the bullying. However, due to the ages of the kids involved, the case will not result in a criminal referral.

“I really don’t know what I’m hoping for other than for people to know that this is not acceptable,” Dana commented to the news team. “Bullying is not okay. There’s no reason to bully someone ever.”

Carter will potentially need surgery on his arm, but for now, he is resting. Friends have generously set up a GoFundMe account to help Carter and his family with medical expenses.

Another bullying incident took place just a few states away in Denver, Colorado. A 9-year-old boy was found dead in his home from a possible suicide attempt after he was allegedly bullied for being homosexual. The BBC reported that Jamel Myles’s mom, Leia Pierce, said that he wanted to go to school and tell the other kids because he was “proud” to be homosexual. His body was found on Thursday and the police are looking into suicide as the cause of death.

“My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school told him to kill himself. I’m just sad he didn’t come to me. I’m so upset that he thought that was his option,” Pierce said of her son, according to The Star.

Bullying is a serious problem in the United States and affects a large number of young children across the country. Statistics show that bullying affects nearly one in three American schoolchildren in grades six through 10 and that 83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys report experiencing harassment, according to Business Insider.

For information about how to stop bullying, take a look at the National Education Association‘s website.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For readers outside the U.S., visit Suicide.org or Befrienders Worldwide for international resources you can use to find help.