The Souselo school group in Cinfães (district of Viseu) is investigating an incident at the Fonte Coberta school in which a nine-year-old boy lost the tips of two fingers, reportedly after a bathroom door was slammed on them. The case, which happened on Monday, was reported by the boy’s mother on social media.
According to her testimony on Instagram, the incident follows a history of bullying she says the school ignored, including hair-pulling, kicking, and choking. On the day of the incident, she said, the boy was trapped by two other children, “had to crawl under the door with the amputated fingers” and lost significant blood before help arrived.
The boy had to undergo three hours of surgery at Porto’s São João Hospital, Nivia Estevam wrote, adding that her son has been left with “physical and psychological” scars from the incident.
She also criticised the school for not contacting the police, failing to explain the severity of the situation, and cleaning the scene before she arrived.
“The school is treating this like a prank that went wrong,” the mother added.
School director Carlos Silveira confirmed an internal inquiry has been launched to determine exactly what happened and said that emergency services were called promptly. He declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, the mother’s requests for legal help have been answered by a team of 15 lawyers who have offered to handle the case.
“We will file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor and handle the administrative process, the school’s civil liability in terms of supervision, and the civil case,” lawyer Catarina Zuccaro told Lusa news agency.
Regarding the criminal aspect, the lawyers will examine what can be done, since “the individuals involved are minors,” but they will still need to be held accountable, she added. “We are 15 lawyers who will take action. Each group will be responsible for one part: criminal, administrative, and civil,” Catarina Zuccaro explained.
