A Calgary teen who recently moved from the Philippines is recovering at home, after he says he was attacked by a group of students.
Fifteen–year-old Michael Dilanco-Mateo was waiting to catch a ride home after school at a bus stop near James Fowler High School on Sept. 5, when he says a group of roughly 10 students began fighting each other.
Dilanco-Mateo pulled out his phone to record the incident, but that’s when he says things went horribly wrong for him.
“One of the guys who was like three times my weight faced me and just screamed ‘Hey do you wanna go?’ Eventually he just punched me, and then out of nowhere, everyone else who I assume was related to the incident — the ones who were fighting each other — just started hitting me,” he told CityNews.
The Calgary Police Service confirmed it is aware of the incident and are working with school staff and students to determine exactly what happened.
In a statement, the Calgary Board of Education says, “We are aware of incidents that took place at James Fowler High School last week. To protect the privacy of all individuals involved, we cannot provide specific details about this situation.”
Dilanco-Mateo was left with minor injuries, including cuts to his shoulder and head, and bruising on his stomach. The incident has left him so shaken up, he’s now looking to transfer schools.
“He doesn’t want to go back there anymore, he’s traumatized, and he doesn’t want to see those kids again,” said his mother, Angelica Dilanco.
Angelica wants to press charges, but her son doesn’t. Instead, he wants to see his attackers have a change of heart.
“It’s not like I’m looking for those guys to be punished,” he said. “I also want their lives to be good, and not have a record saying this guy assaulted another person when they were young.”