OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – What may have started as a social media feud spiraled out of control last month when a confrontation turned violent at a private school in Oakland Park. Now, a mother is looking for answers.
"I broke down. I totally broke down," Maria Castro said.
Castro said she knows how close her son, Quanell, came to death after the 14-year-old was severely beaten by two other kids as school.
"I could not believe it's not safe in these schools no more," she said.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, the incident happened Feb. 26 at East Coast Academy, on the campus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale.
Castro said her son was sitting in the main office when two other boys confronted him.
"My son called me said, 'Mom, I'm getting jumped,'" Castro said.
Castro said she called her daughter to pick up Quanell, who found him badly hurt and bruised.
Deputies listed the weapons used in the attack as hands, fists, feet and even teeth.
"They hit him with chairs and kicked him in the head," Castro said.
Castro's daughter put Quanell in her car and drove off. Castro said that's when her son had a seizure.
"He leaned back and stared shaking and his arm was twisted," Castro said.
Fire Rescue was called and the teen was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
"When I got here, he was on life support. He couldn't breathe on his own," Castro said.
What bothers Castro the most, she said, is that no one was around to stop the fight.
"There was no supervision. No one called me about my son," she said.
Much of the incident details obtained by BSO were redacted from the report, but the conclusion reached by a deputy who responded to the school was: "After speaking with the witness, it was determined that no staff members were present or in the area where the incident occurred."
Deputies said the investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.
Castro said she has a message for her son's attackers.
"(You all) could have killed my son. The doctor said, 'He was a lucky kid,' to me," she said.
East Coast Academy's co-owner and principal declined to comment about the incident.