NUEVA JERSEY — Cientos de estudiantes de un escuela secundaria de Nueva Jersey salieron al unísono el lunes por la mañana para llamar la atención sobre la violencia en la comunidad días despue que un compañero de estudios apuñalara a niño de 11 años que caminaba hacia his home.
The students’ call to action comes following a bloodbath last Wednesday when another 11-year-old student used a kitchen knife to stab Smailyn Jimenez in the stomach on his usual commute to the home after school. The suspect in the case attends the same school as Jimenez, Samuel E. Shull High School in Perth Amboy.
Police arrested the boy suspected of being responsible for the attack, charging him with an act of juvenile delinquency for offenses amounting to attempted murder and aggravated assault if committed by an adult.
Security issues don’t stop at high school. Parents in Perth Amboy will hold a rally on Monday evening, urging the district to crack down on bullying and calling for the resignation of the district superintendent.
The city and district released a joint statement that said in part, “We need to work together to provide a set of interventions and solutions that work for our students…including mental health services, counseling and peer intervention.
A Good Samaritan saw the 11-year-old victim last week and rushed to her aid.
Xenovia Cruz was on her way to school to pick up her niece when she saw the boy screaming for help. It was then that Smailyn lifted his shirt to show him his stab wounds.
“I saw him screaming, with blood on his hands,” Cruz said. “I took him to the car…I saw an ambulance and I ran out of the car and waved at them…I’m completely heartbroken, I haven’t slept knowing if he’s fine or not.”
If it hadn’t been for Cruz’s quick thinking, Smailyn would have no chance of surviving, said his father, Juan Jimenez.