ILOILO – A 15-year-old Grade 10 student sustained a stab wound after he was attacked by a 13-year-old Grade 7 student inside their school premises in San Joaquin town around 7 a.m. on July 2, in what authorities suspect to be a case of bullying gone violent.
According to initial police reports, the stabbing stemmed from a verbal altercation between the two students. The Grade 7 student, identified by the alias “Toto,” had allegedly teased the victim about his body size, claiming that it is too big for his age, prompting the Grade 10 student to respond, “Kagamay sa imo, pero isog sa imo”. The exchange escalated tensions between the two.
Police Captain Chrysler John Ledesma, officer-in-charge of the San Joaquin Municipal Police Station, said the victim was clearing grass within the school grounds when Toto, accompanied by a friend, approached him and suddenly stabbed him with a five-inch folding knife, which the suspect admitted to having hidden in his bag.
The victim sustained a stab wound to the right side of his abdomen and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. He was later referred to a hospital in Iloilo City for surgical treatment due to the seriousness of his injuries.
School security personnel were unable to prevent the incident, as guards were reportedly assisting other students crossing the pedestrian lane at the time of the attack.
As of press time, the Grade 10 student remained confined in the hospital, while the suspect was under the custody of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office as authorities investigate the incident further./PN
