Republished March 27, 2019 - 12:45 PM
Original Publication Date March 27, 2019 - 9:01 AM
WALTERBORO, S.C. - Investigators are releasing few details about a fifth grader in South Carolina who died Wednesday from injuries she suffered in a fight two days before at her elementary school.
School officials who called 911 initially said the girl collapsed Monday and was unconscious but breathing in the nurse's office at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro, according to a Colleton County Sheriff's Office incident report.
The report and statements from deputies and school officials have not detailed how the girl was injured or what the fight was about. The attack is listed on the report as a simple assault.
The student who attacked the girl did not use a weapon and is also in fifth grade, according to the incident report, which blacked out the student's age, sex and name.
The student was suspended, the Colleton County School District said in a statement.
The school district identified the girl as Raniya Wright. She died Wednesday morning at a Charleston hospital, Colleton County deputies said. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
The death is a tremendous loss to the school, which has had grief counsellors on campus since the fight, Colleton County School District spokesman Sean Gruber said in a statement.
"Raniya was a wonderful student. She loved to write, spend time with her friends, play basketball and loved being a big sister. She was actively involved in her church as a junior usher," Gruber said.
School officials say they are co-operating with deputies in a criminal investigation. No charges have been filed.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019