A 12-year-old boy was in a coma over the weekend after being severely beaten by another student at a northwest suburban middle school Friday.
Kenyon Woods Middle School Principal Lisa Olsem said the young boy was “assaulted by another student” just before noon. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin before being transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
“I spent time with the family of the injured student at the hospital this afternoon and will remain in close contact with them,” Olsem wrote in a letter to parents Friday. “The alleged attacker, [sic] was arrested and transported to South Elgin Police Department.”
The boy, identified by family as Henry Sembdner, remained in the intensive care unit Sunday. According to a Caring Bridge account created by the family to update on his progress, Sembdner woke from his coma Sunday.
“They just removed the intubation and guess what he said,” his mother Karen DeWilde Sembdner wrote. “’I’m Hungry!’”
At the Elgin school district meeting Monday night, the student board member wore green, a symbol officials say is meant to represent hope. Others throughout the district wore the color in support after the brutal beating. That support, the district’s CEO says, is not one-sided.
“Not only do we support Henry, but we also support the student who allegedly caused this—we support him through counseling,” Tony Sanders said.
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A school official also touched on what might have caused the incident
“The student was bumped, or somehow bumped into the other student, that student then became aggressive in a very short couple of seconds and injured the young man,” said John Heiderscheidt, the district’s director of safety.
While police and the school have released few details on what happened, a GoFundMe page created by Sembdner’s aunt claims the young boy was going into a crowded hallway at school and “bumped into someone.”
“The kid grabbed him and slammed him into the ground,” wrote Crystal Sembdner Mims. “A wonderful child is in the hospital for no reason.”
South Elgin police said an investigation remained ongoing. Police said the investigation would be turned over to the Kane County State's Attorney's office when it has been completed, noting that it is a priority for the department.
Chief Jerry Krawczyk said the alleged suspect is in middle school but did not give an age.
"This case makes me sad as a dad," he said. "I've never seen a case like this involving children resulting in such severe injuries."
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the Sembdner family with medical costs. As of Money, one page had raised more than $17,500 and the other had raised $7,400.
Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo took to Twitter Monday to lend Henry some support and make him an offer.
