Four-year-old boy attacked by up to four kids at weekend soccer tournament in Ashcroft

ASHCROFT (NEWS 1130) – A four-year-old boy is recovering at home after being attacked by up to four other children during a weekend soccer tournament in Ashcroft.

Police say a woman reported to an off-duty RCMP officer on Sunday that she witnessed an assault on the boy by several other children the day before in Ashcroft, B.C.

She told the officer she yelled at the children to stop and they scattered from the area.

RCMP Sgt. Kathleen Fitzgerald says an investigation is underway, but the delay in the report is a barrier to the investigation.

“The parent did not report to police right away,” she says. “We don’t know if the alleged offenders were participants in the soccer tournament or siblings. We’re dealing with minors though in all circumstances here.”

She says the child’s injuries are not serious and it’s not clear why he was assaulted.

“It’s still early in the investigation, but no, it doesn’t appear that this is a mob situation, it appears to be a playground situation where there was some physical interaction between the youth and the four-year-old received injuries as a result of that interaction.”

She says the alleged offenders are not from the Ashcroft area and they may have been the siblings of kids playing in the tournament.

“We’re working backwards to determine what occurred and who is involved. The child is doing well. We’re still early in the investigation, as I said, due to delayed reporting, but as far as we know we’re dealing with probably all persons under the age of 12.”

Fitzgerald says police need help to identify the children involved, but charges are unlikely because of their ages.

With files from the Canadian Press.