Boy dies in school fight

A 13-year-old high school student died following a fistfight with a 14-year-old classmate inside a school compound in Sampaloc, Manila yesterday morning.

Homicide investigator Detective Edison Bertoldo said Johndrel Alcantara was rushed unconscious at the Chinese General Hospital and was declared dead on arrival by Dr. Cecil Santos.

Bertoldo said doctors initially diagnosed the cause of Alcantara’s death as heart failure. According to Bertoldo, examination of the victim’s body showed no external injury.

Investigation showed Alcantara and his male classmate had a fight at the compound of the Esteban Abada High School located along Blumentritt Extension in Sampaloc, Manila at about 8:40 a.m.

The victim’s opponent, a lean, short boy for his age of 14, told investigators that it was the victim who hit him first. He said that when he was about to retaliate, he saw Alcantara shake violently, then gasp for breath with his mouth foaming. The boy was rushed by school officials to the nearest hospital.

School officials, led by principal Imelda Mendez, summoned the parents of both boys to the school.

The victim’s father, Diosdado, told police and school officials that his son had no history of heart disorder, but had been diagnosed before as having weak lungs.

Both parents later settled amicably, with the victim’s father deciding not to file any charges against the other boy. The boy’s parents promised to shoulder the burial and hospital expenses of the victim.

An autopsy is still being conducted on the boy’s body as of press time.