Brazilian Boy’s Fingers Severed at Portugal School Prompts Official Inquiries

Overview

• The incident occurred on November 10 at Escola Básica de Fonte Coberta in Cinfães, where the mother says two classmates trapped her nine-year-old son’s fingers in a bathroom door until parts were amputated.
• At Hospital São João in Porto, surgeons operated for about three hours and concluded reimplantation was not possible, and the child lost the first phalanx of two fingers and was hospitalized for one day.
• Hospital social services notified the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People, which opened a case, and the Souselo school group says it began an internal investigation.
• The mother reports that school staff initially downplayed the episode and that local police described it as an accident based on the school’s version, leading her to publicize the case on social media.
• The family has relocated within Portugal, is consulting a lawyer, and the child is being treated for sleep difficulties related to trauma.