### Charles County Family Seeks Answers After 7-Year-Old Hospitalized Following School Incident

A family in Waldorf, Maryland is demanding explanations after a traumatic incident at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School left their 7-year-old son hospitalized. The incident, which the boy’s mother described in a viral social media post, involves a fourth grader allegedly hanging her second-grade son in the boys' bathroom.

The mother’s post has rapidly gained attention, amassing over 215,000 likes on Instagram. In her emotional recount, she expressed her shock after receiving a call from the school, informing her that her son was being rushed to a children's hospital in Northwest. "I'm feeling anger and seeing red, but my son is here by the grace of GOD, and I will forever be thankful!" she wrote.

The parents, who chose to remain anonymous, described their son’s physical and emotional scars. "If you look at my son, he has marks under his eyes, like blood vessels, he still has bruises on his neck from being choked," they said, fighting back tears. They emphasized the long road to recovery their son faces, with the mother stating, "He's traumatized. It's going to take time. This is not something he's going to just get over overnight."

Medical paperwork the family shared reveals the child sustained a neck contusion, indicating blunt trauma. Charles County Public Schools has acknowledged the incident, framing it as a case of horseplay gone wrong. A communication sent out by the school’s administration narrated how a student's jacket got caught on a stall door hook during horseplay, leading to the entanglement. Another student’s inability to assist led to a staff intervention and precautionary medical attention.

However, the involved boy’s mother questions this explanation. "If you're horse playing, how do you get caught on a hook? We need answers, I want answers, and we won't stop till we get answers," she insisted. She also presented a chilling account shared by her son, who reported that the fourth grader involved had said: "I'm going to show you how I did people back in the day," which the mother interprets as bullying.

The family is calling for significant changes within the school district to prevent such incidents in the future. "I want to see a policy in place, at least hallway monitors. I want to know why a fourth grader is in the same bathroom as a second grader?" the mother questioned. She expressed concern that the school may not be taking adequate measures to ensure student safety, adding, "We’re sending our kids to school every day thinking that they are safe."

The family has decided their son will not return to C. Paul Barnhart Elementary, although they hope the district will take steps to address their concerns. "These are all our children, and they are the future, so we just need to protect them," the father said passionately.