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Mother, 6-year-old boy, made up story about being attacked by bullies in Washington

Posted at 10:17 AM, Aug 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-31 18:54:57-04

A 6-year-old boy who was hospitalized on Aug. 22 after the boy and his mother previously had claimed he was standing up to a group of bullies fabricated the story, the Olympia, Wash. Police Department said in a news release. 

Investigators said the injuries to the 6-year-old boy were from a fall, and not bullies. 

"The injuries sustained by the child are the result of a fall, which occurred at the apartment complex on the date in question, not an assault," Olympia Police said in a news release Thursday. "As a result, there are no suspects of any age."

The police department added, "Appropriate social services have been notified to ensure the continued welfare of the child involved."

It was previously reported that the boy had a long list of injures : two fractures in his elbow that may need surgery, a large cut in his eye that required surgery to repair, multiple hematomas to his head and several scratches. Debris and pieces of rock were pulled out of the injured eye, and doctors had initially told English he might lose it.

A GoFundMe fundraiser was also set up to help with the boy's medical expenses. That fundraiser, which had reportedly raised $45,000, has since been deleted. 

"It's not fair my son was trying to do the right thing and he gets hurt like this," the boy's mother said. "There's no reason for it."

The mom claimed her son saw a child being bullied outside the family's home and told the group of kids to stop. The group of about six or seven kids started attacking him with rocks, sticks and rubbed sawdust in his eyes, she had told multiple media outlets.

"I just instantly flipped out," the mother said in an interview with KOMO