A six-year-old boy in Washington state was hospitalized and had to undergo emergency surgery on his eye after he said he stood up to a group of bullies attacking his friend.
The boy, Carter English, said the group of children attacked him with rocks, sticks, and sawdust on a playground in an Olympia apartment complex Wednesday afternoon after he confronted them for picking on his friend, KOMO reported.
“They were just bullying him and beating him up. I just told them to stop and then they did it to me,” Carter said.
Carter suffered a broken arm, a laceration on his eye that required him to undergo emergency surgery, and multiple cuts and bruises to his face, KABC reported.
“I really don’t know what I’m hoping for other than for people to know that this is not acceptable,” Carter’s mother, Dana English, said. “Bullying is not okay. There’s no reason to bully someone ever.”
Olympia Police say they have identified the five-year-old responsible for starting the incident but do not plan on charging anyone involved with a crime due to their ages. Authorities say they do plan to get social services involved.
Friends of the family set up a GoFundMe page to help with Carter’s medical expenses. The page has raised more than $15,000 as of Monday morning.