Seven children are facing battery charges in an attack on a mother and her 9-year-old son near a Far South Side elementary school last month, according to Chicago police.
The children — ranging in age from 10 to 13 — face one count of misdemeanor battery causing bodily harm each; a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy were each charged twice, according to police.
The four boys and three girls were released from custody and referred for counseling, police said. An investigation is ongoing.
The charges stem from a Nov. 17 incident in which police said the children attacked 33-year-old Corshawnda Hatter and her 9-year-old son in the 10600 block of South Bensley Avenue in South Deering around 3 p.m.
Both were taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital where they were listed in serious condition, police said.
A GoFundMe for the family has to date raised more than $43,000.
“What hurts even more is knowing this all started from bullying my son has been dealing with at school,” Hatter wrote on the fundraising page. “I never imagined it would escalate to something like this, and as a mother, it’s terrifying to see your child harmed like that. I just want him to feel safe going to school and walking in his own neighborhood.”
After the attack, Mayor Brandon Johnson said on social media he was “deeply disturbed” by the videos of the attack that circulated widely online.
The mayor said his office had been working with police and the Chicago Housing Authority to support the family, who was relocated, and respond to the incident. He said the police would deploy “additional resources” to the area, and community groups would provide safe passage for students and families at the elementary school.
“That type of behavior is unacceptable in our city, and we must not normalize that type of senseless violence,” Johnson said last month. “Our students and families should always feel safe on their way to and from school and we must make the critical investments necessary to make that a reality in every part of our city.”