A 12-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by a woman with a paddle in Bristol

A 12-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by a woman with a paddle in Bristol.The boy, who is called Antwon, had been playing with his friends at Conham River Park in Brislington, Bristol when the woman allegedly got out of her boat and accused him of throwing stones.Whilst some of the other children had been throwing stones in the river, Antwon's family say he hadn't thrown anything and was targeted due to being the only black boy there.

The incident occurred on March 26th 2022, but the family were told by the police on April 14th that no further action would be taken against the woman.The 12-year-old's aunt Antonia took to Instagram to share photos of her nephew's face covered in blood, as well as a video of the woman shouting at the boys and holding a paddle in her hand.Her caption read: "On the 26th of March I was devastated to receive this picture of my nephew.

He and his friends had been playing at a lake in Bristol when this lady accused and attacked my nephew with the paddle of her boat for throwing stones which he didn't even throw!!"However, because he was the ONLY black boy there and he's very tall for a 12-year-old she thought it would be okay to attack him!

"I am VERY upset to see that my brother has received a letter explaining they (the police) aren't doing anything about this matter!! My nephew is Autistic and this has really affected him, he's such a sweet soul."Please share and like let's hope the police do something about this lady before other kids get hurt!! If anyone witnessed this at the lake please come forward. Also sign this petition."

The 12-year-old's family and a letter from the police, claim that the woman admitted to pushing Antwon with the paddle, hitting him on his head and leaving a deep cut. The woman reportedly claimed she felt threatened by Antwon.Avon and Somerset Police's letter stated: "Unfortunately the decision has been made to take no further action in this case."The main reason for this is that during the interview the suspect raised a possibility for self-defence.

By this, we mean that the suspect admitted pushing Antwon and when pushing him she had the paddle in her hand and this contacted with his head."The suspect claimed she pushed Antwon away because he challenged her and she felt threatened by him and the surrounding group. Unfortunately the witness statement we have supports the suspect striking Antwon on the head when she pushed him back."Also the CCTV we have does not capture the assault. I am sorry about this decision, I know it will be disappointing."Despite their previous statement, police have now initiated a review of the case, after 'becoming aware of the concerns of the injured boy's family.'

The police told Bristol Live: "Officers attended after a call reporting that a woman had hit a child with a paddle on the riverside near Wyndham Crescent, Bristol at about 3pm on Saturday 26 March."A 12-year-old boy had sustained a head injury which required gluing. The incident was taken seriously and a woman was initially arrested at the scene before being de-arrested in line with Police and Criminal Evidence Act guidelines."

A woman was subsequently interviewed on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm. Officers took a statement from the child and an adult family friend and viewed footage from after the assault. After reviewing the available evidence officers believed that there was no realistic prospect of a conviction and made all parties aware there would be no further action."Victims have a right to request a review in such cases. After becoming aware of the concerns of the injured boy's family through social media, officers got in touch with them and initiated a review of the case.

We'd ask anyone who witnessed the incident to call 101 and give the reference 5222071897."Antwon's father Ty Forrest said he is very disappointed when the police initially said that no further action would be taken against the woman.He said: "It's a kick in the teeth that nothing has happened. I knew she wasn't going to jail or anything like that but I thought that it might have at least gone on her record or she'd be given a fine."If the police could have got some sort of resolution to it, it would have been better, but this is disappointing. I don't want my son to live the rest of his life believing that there are no consequences to things like this."