A 16-year-old girl is in a “serious condition” in hospital after a brutal attack outside a classroom in a Portalegre school.
The teen was initially stabilised at the local A&E department, and later transferred to Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital.
She suffered ‘cranio-facial’ trauma from reportedly being kicked and punched in the face.
The girl’s attacker – a pupil in the same class, also aged 16 – has been described as Portuguese.
He has been suspended while police investigate.
Say reports, it may be that he ends up failing the year as his tally of absences could become too great.
A source for the school insists this was ‘an isolated incident’, but the girl – described as Brazilian – told tabloid Correio da Manhã that she has suffered from bullying for “around two years” since she arrived in the area.
“I don’t want to go back to school”, she told the paper. The girl is expected to lodge an official complaint against her alleged attacker who may well be dealt with as an adult.
As to what prompted the incident, the victim says that it came out of the blue. Other reports suggest there had been “an exchange of insults” inside the classroom beforehand.
