Waterloo Regional Police say a student was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after another student was left injured as a result of a “tap-out game” at an elementary school in Kitchener.
Police say they were called by a concerned family member at around 3:46 p.m., a couple of hours after the incident occurred at Chicopee Hills Public School.
The officer’s investigation showed that a student allegedly played the “tap out game” on another student, which caused the victim to lose consciousness before he fell and hit his head.
The tap-out game involves one person choking another until the person being choked either ‘taps out’ or passes out.
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Police say an ambulance was called at around 1:40 p.m. and the victim was taken to Grand River Hospital.
Police would later arrest a young offender and lay two assault charges.
“Although this is a police investigation involving students, we want parents, families, and the wider community to know that the staff at Chicopee Hills Public School were very concerned for student safety and immediately called 911 to get medical assistance,” the school board said in a statement to Global News.
“In cases like this where there is a serious injury, we report to the police. We have also ensured that our student support staff is at school to work with any students who are experiencing trauma or difficulties.”
The board said it hopes that no other students would participate in the game.
A police spokesperson told Global News that this is the first time they have been contacted regarding the tap-out game.
“My understanding is that this is the first report we have received of youth taking part in such activity,” Cherri Greeno told Global News.
“Obviously, this is concerning for us and we wanted to get this information out there so parents and guardians know so they can sit down with children to talk with them about it,” she continued.
Greeno also wanted children to be aware of the potential issues connected with these activities.
“We want children to know it can not only lead to serious criminal charges but also to serious physical injuries including death.”
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