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Gym class scuffle leaves 8-year-old boy with gaping head wound

ATLANTA — A gym class scuffle left an 8-year-old boy with a gash on his head so deep it required stitches

Channel 2's Audrey Washington spoke with the boy and his mother Thursday right before they headed inside Centennial Academy. The boy, whose name is Rashard, told Washington he now feels a little uncomfortable at the school.

“I’m not feeling very well about my scar,” Rashard said.

Rashard said he didn’t really know how bad it was, until he saw the blood gushing from his forehead.

“I felt the blood and I saw it,” Rashard told Washington.

Chabria Crawley, Rashard’s mother, said it all happened inside a local YMCA where she said Centennial Academy Charter School holds its gym classes.

She got the call from the school around 11 a.m. on Jan. 26.

“I came here to pick him up and found out a kid had assaulted him,” Crawley told Washington.

Rashard told Washington that there was a disagreement about a game and one boy punched him in the face.

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He said he hit the boy back but that’s when the boy picked up a pole.

“Then he swung the pole at me,” Rashard said.

The incident left a deep gash on his forehead.

“I couldn’t look at him because there was just blood running down his face,” Crawley said.

Rashard needed 10 stitches to close up the wound.

Now, Crawley wants answers.

“Why aren’t these kids being supervised?” Crawley said.

Washington contacted Atlanta Public Schools to ask that question. In a statement, it said:

"Atlanta Public Schools confirms that an incident involving two students from Centennial Academy occurred during a physical education class on Friday, January 26, 2018. The physical education teacher immediately intervened and took the student to the school clinic.  The school nurse followed school procedures by attending to the injured student and contacting the student’s parents and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The well-being of every student is paramount at Centennial Academy, and the school will continue to enforce appropriate measures and protocols to help keep all students safe." 

As for Rashard, he said he’s going to steer clear of the other boy.

“I shouldn’t be around him anymore,” Rashard said.

Washington asked district officials about that other student involved and whether there was any disciplinary action taken. They did not comment on that issue.