10-year-old boy charged with assault after hitting classmate in face with ball
Prosecutors drop charge and encourage families to find solution
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A 10-year-old boy was charged with aggravated assault after hitting a 9-year-old classmate with a rubber ball.
Students at a Canton Township school in Detroit were playing “tips” on 29 April, in which they jumped to catch a ball that had been thrown in the air.
The Wayne County prosecutor’s office said when the game ended the older boy threw the ball “with force”, causing his classmate to suffer a concussion.
The older boy’s mother said the only thing her son was guilty of was “being a black boy”.
However, the charge was dropped a day after it was filed on Tuesday.
Wayne County prosecutor Kim Worthy said there was a “better way to go forward” than to take the child to juvenile court.
Ms Worthy encouraged the families to find a solution.
She said the mother’s claim race was a factor in the investigation was “categorically wrong”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments