Vicious school fight

According to reports, at about 10.45 am, Keanu Achong, 15, a Form III student, was at the school cafeteria when a male student came up to him and asked about a female student. A heated argument ensued and Achong walked away from the boy and sat on a chair.

The male student picked up a piece of iron and struck Achong twice on his head. As Achong fell to the ground, blood pouring from his head, his attacker sat on him and began choking him. It was at this point that schoolgirl Shanna Williams, 14, intervened and tried to pull the boy off of Achong.

The attacker, still sitting on Achong, turned and struck Williams in her face, fracturing her jaw. Other students pulled the boy off Achong and a report was made to teachers who in turn contacted the San Fernando police.

Both Achong and Williams were taken to the nearby San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) for treatment. Achong was transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital due to the absence of a neurologist at the southern institution. Williams remains at the SFGH.

In a telephone interview yesterday from New York, Achong’s grandmother Gail, described her grandson’s condition as “critical” and added that the family was struggling to deal with the situation.

She said that the attack was so savage that Achong’s skull was smashed in. “My grandson was walking away when he was attacked. Doctors told us he may be paralyzed or may not even survive,” Achong said. “We are just praying for some kind of miracle right now.”

“We want a full investigation into this incident because my grandson may be paralyzed or he may not even survive,” Achong said.

Achong’s aunt Jenilee Subero who spoke to Newsday yesterday at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital shortly after visiting Achong, said there is major swelling in his brain and he is being kept for observation.

“We don’t know how to cope with this, because he could die, we are just praying that it would go away and he could go back to being his self, he might have scars but we could deal with that.

“He is quiet, pleasant. He is not a troublemaker. He don’t lime, he don’t have that background of being in trouble,” Subero said.