High school student arrested for breaking classmate's back

HIROSHIMA —

Police said that a junior high school student in Hiroshima has been arrested after he allegedly broke a classmate’s back.

According to police, the 15-year-old boy was with four friends in a school corridor during recess when several of them picked up the victim. The youth then allegedly kneed him in the back. Police say the boy suffered a broken bone in his lower back.

Following the alleged assault, the school principal publicly apologized for failing to protect the boy. The school subsequently distributed a questionnaire to students, the results of which suggested that the victim had been bullied regularly by his assailant.

The boy and his parents filed a complaint with police. The arrested youth denies any intent to harm the victim.