On a bizarre turn of events, it now appears that a widely-reported brutal assault of a six-year-old boy may have been the invention of the sole witness of the event.
As reported, football coach Þórarinn Engilbertsson was reportedly passing by a pitch in Breiðhólt yesteday when he heard screams. Running to investigate, he witnessed four boys aged around 12 or 13 beating a small child. The boys immediately ran for it when Þórarinn came after them, and he reportedly caught one of the boys. When asked to explain the attack, the boy said they wanted the football the child was playing with. The boy was taken to his parents’ house. The victim, a six-year-old boy, was taken to the hospital, where his injuries were assessed. While badly beaten and with some tendon injuries, he reportedly had no broken bones and will survive.
However, the story appeared shady before police even got involved.
For one thing, the police only learned about the event through the media – neither the victim’s nor the assailants’ parents reported the matter to the police. Vísir reports that furthermore, Þórarinn claimed to have been in contact with the victim’s parents, but would offer the police no information about them, the assailants, or their parents. He claimed, though, that the parents decided to “sort the matter between themselves, without police involvement.”
In investigating further – talking to hospitals, local schools, and possible witnesses in the area – no material evidence arose that there was ever an attack at all. In fact, the sole evidence that it even took place is the word of Þórarinn. Police now suspect the story was a fabrication. Þórarinn, for his part, denies making it up, saying that to do so would cost him his job.
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