Authorities say a 14-year-old boy has been arrested after allegedly punching another student Wednesday.
According to Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn, officers were called to the American Heritage Academy in Cottonwood at about 2:30 p.m.
The mother of a 13-year-old student told deputies that her son had been attacked by a student at the school earlier in the day.
She said her son had been treated at Verde Valley Medical Center for injuries he sustained in the assault, but was then transported to Phoenix Children's Hospital for a possible ruptured spleen, according to D'Evelyn.
Deputies learned from school officers that a 14-year-old student was the suspect in the assault.
Administrators reportedly told deputies that students and at least one staff member saw a commotion in a school hallway near the gymnasium that morning. They said they saw the victim lying on the ground and that he identified his alleged attacker.
School officials said they called for paramedics for the victim and detained the suspect. They told deputies that they had learned the suspect punched the victim in his mid-section without apparent provocation, D'Evelyn said.
The suspect's mother took him home and that is where he was arrested later in the day. He is charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and disruption of school activities.
D'Evelyn said the suspect was transported and booked into the Prescott Juvenile Detention Center.
The victim was said to remain under observation at Phoenix Children's Hospital as of Thursday afternoon.
