Boy, 10, charged after classmate hit in face with ball during game

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 10-year-old suburban Detroit boy has been charged with aggravated assault after hitting a 9-year-old classmate in the face with a rubber ball similar to a dodge ball.

The Wayne County prosecutor’s office says students at a Canton Township school were playing “tips” April 29 in which participants jump to catch a ball that’s tossed upward.

Prosecutors say the game ended and the older boy threw the ball “with force,” causing his classmate to suffer a concussion and abrasions.

The older boy’s mother says in a written statement the only thing her son is guilty of “is being a black boy.” The injured boy’s race wasn’t available.

The prosecutor’s spokeswoman, Maria Miller, says the charges are not based on race. A Thursday appearance in Juvenile Court is scheduled.