A longstanding feud between two schoolboys culminated in the stabbing of a 13-year-old student of the East Ruimveldt Secondary School on Wednesday.
Jermaine Bright, a third former, was yesterday well enough to ride his bicycle around his Block ‘B’ Sophia neighbourhood, but on Wednesday he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after a third form student of the Lodge Community High School plunged a pair of scissors into his back.
It was the second schoolboy stabbing in as many days in the city, the first being that of 13-year-old Dolphin Secondary School student Shane Hackette, who was stabbed twice by another student at his school on Tuesday, during a scuffle.
Tyrone Bright, Jermaine’s father, said he believed the attack on his son had been planned. Jermaine told his father that he was preparing to go to lessons when he was attacked.
Jermaine attends afternoon lessons at the Volunteer Youth Corps Inc in D’Urban Backlands, and would usually walk from school to the building daily. On this day, however, he told his father that the two friends he usually walked with were not at school. Not wanting to walk by himself, he opted to get a bus.
He explained to his father that just as he was about to board the bus he was attacked from behind by the other student. Jermaine said he turned around and was about to advance on his attacker, but backed off after he noticed the boy’s brother crossing the road with a “jukka.”
It was this development that cased the boy’s father to speculate that the attack was planned, since he does not believe it to be a coincidence that the boy’s brother just happened to be in the same location when the attack occurred.
Jermaine told his father that he was protected from a second attack by a friend who is a fourth form student of East Ruimveldt.
When asked if he was aware of prior incidents between his son and his attacker, Tyrone said he only learned that the boys had a conflict-riddled history on Wednesday. He said his son told him that he and the boy had fought on two occasions, and that the boy would constantly make threats to him.
Tyrone explained that after taking lessons, his son needed to pass the Lodge Community High School to get home. Jermaine told his father that he was threatened on several occasions by his assailant while walking past the school.
Tyrone said his son’s assailant is still at large and he is waiting for the police to take action on the matter.
In the meantime, Jermaine seems to be doing quite well, though he is scheduled to return to the hospital today to receive a full medical.
Meanwhile, Hackette is still a patient of the GPH recovering from his stab wounds.
A relative of the teen said he had not yet undergone surgery to fix his punctured lung, but his condition was improving though he was still in immense pain.
Hackette was stabbed in his chest and upper back with what was described as a “seamstress scissors” after a scuffle broke out between him and another student on Tuesday.
