Gaffney Student's Injuries Called "Unintentional Assault"

By: Jonathan Carlson | WNCN-TV
Published: September 29, 2009

A Gaffney teenager--seriously injured in school. School officials, and Gaffney Police both say it was "horseplay" gone bad.

But Monday, police also said--it was an assault.

Officers say the student who caused the injury never meant to harm the teen. In fact, they are described as friends.

But what happened last Thursday at Gaffney High School left Javier Avila unconscious, and his face broken.

Now the other teen, a 15 year old, could face criminal charges.

The 9th grade Avila showed us his injuries friday, after he says another student grabbed him around the neck for some time--he blacked out--and when he woke up--he says he was in an ambulance--his face mangled.

Cherokee County School District Superintendent Bill James told NewsChannel 7 today--the school promptly reported the incident to police.

And video of the incident shows what they call horseplay, and that only one student caused Avila to go down and hit his face on the concrete floor.

However, police told us Monday, other students, were horseplaying with Avila before the choke hold.

And according to the police report--his head was shoved into a locker door as well.

However, the police chief says Avila's injuries appear to be only from when he collapsed after the choke hold.

Chief Rick Turner with the Gaffney Police Department told us, "We have turned our investigation over to the Department of Juvenile Justice--they will be taking it to the Solicitor's office for possible charges."

He continued, "It outright constitutes an assault, when someone is rendered unconscious with that type of injury."

The school district says that video of the incident has been offered to Avila's family to watch to ease their concerns about motive.

Police tell us the school resource officer who would have been patrolling that hallway at the time was in another disciplinary meeting when the incident happened.