A 13-year-old Arizona boy is facing a misdemeanor as*ault charge after a dodgeball game at school allegedly left his ex-girlfriend with large bruises and a trip to the emergency room.
Abel Schipper said he never meant to hurt her, but admitted that he did target her during the game.
His mother alleged the whole case is unfair, while people online are split over whether a child should face criminal charges for something that happened during a game.
Highlights
- A 13-year-old Arizona boy faces a misdemeanor ass*ult charge after admitting he targeted his ex-girlfriend during a school dodgeball game.
- The girl was hospitalized with large bruises.
- The case has divided public opinion over whether the incident was a*sault or simply part of the game.
“What would the charge even be? He threw a ball in dodgeball, and she failed to dodge,” wrote one commenter.
The incident happened while the students were warming up for a dodgeball game
The incident happened in December 2025 at Mayer High School in Arizona.
According to the police report, Abel and two other eighth-grade boys were playing dodgeball during a gym-class warm-up when they allegedly began throwing balls at Abel’s ex-girlfriend.
A social worker from Banner Health contacted the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office two days later after learning about the incident.
The social worker reportedly told authorities that the three boys had “relentlessly a*saulted her with dodgeballs when she came out of the bathroom.”
The girl was later taken to the hospital, according to the police report. Her mother also reportedly photographed two large bruises on her body.
The injuries were described as being around the size of softballs. One bruise was on her upper-right rib cage, while another was on her lower-right abdomen.
Police later interviewed Abel and the other two boys.
All three said they did not intend to hurt the girl.
Abel has since explained his version of what happened in interviews with Arizona’s Family and TMZ.
He admitted that he threw a ball at his former girlfriend and hit her.
“We threw around the dodgeballs, and then I threw it at her. I hit her.”
He said one of the other boys missed her, while the third boy also hit her.
Abel admitted he targeted his ex but said that is what the dodgeball game is all about
Abel has not denied aiming at his ex-girlfriend.
In fact, he openly acknowledged it.
“I’m not going to lie. I did target her a little bit.”
But he said there was no intention to hurt her seriously.
He explained that targeting another player is part of the game. “Obviously I’m going to have to target somebody for dodgeball. It’s dodgeball.”
Abel continued, “You have to choose somebody, throw the ball, then try to get them out.”
He also said he did not think the balls could cause serious injuries because they were small and soft.
“I didn’t think a dodgeball would hurt. And these are small ones too. So you can squeeze them and like they compress and stuff.”
During another interview, he said the students had initially been throwing the balls at different classmates before the group focused on his ex.
He also denied that the boys had deliberately squeezed the balls to make them hit harder.
When asked about his relationship with the girl, Abel said they were not particularly close at the time.
“I wouldn’t say we were on good terms, but I also wouldn’t say we were on bad terms.”
He also said she had previously hit him and later ended their relationship. Despite that history, Abel continued to insist that hurting her was not his goal.
“I didn’t want to hurt her at all.”
Abel’s mother said she didn’t even know police had questioned him
The legal case came as a shock to Abel’s mother, Cecily Schipper.
She said she had no idea the police had interviewed her son at school.
According to Cecily, she only found out that her son was facing a criminal charge months after the December incident.
A letter from the Yavapai County Juvenile Justice Center arrived in March informing her that Abel had been charged with misdemeanor a*sault.
Cecily strongly disagreed with the decision, saying, “It is absolutely ridiculous. This is a game that every kid in the nation plays at some point in their life,” per AZ Family.
She also questioned the way the dodgeballs were being treated in the case.
“They’re considering the dodgeball a weapon and that he knowingly or willingly, recklessly harmed this girl just playing dodgeball in PE.”
Cecily further added she would understand if her son deserved punishment for deliberately hurting another child. But she believes that is different from what happened here.
“If it was a situation where boys will be boys, then he deserves punishment for that. But I also think my son is getting injustice here when it comes to the court situation.”
She also raised another detail that she found confusing. Cecily said the girl allegedly continued asking her for rides home after the incident.
“I have text messages from her asking for rides home after this incident happened in December. So it’s just strange.”
She added she had also been friends with the girl’s mother. The girl’s family and the school have not publicly commented on the case in the supplied reports.
At first, Abel appeared to take the legal situation lightly, but he admitted it is making him nervous
During the interview, he described it as, “it’s just dodgeball.”
But the seriousness of having to appear in juvenile court has since sunk in.
Abel admitted that going before a judge makes him nervous.
His mother said he was extremely anxious before an earlier court appearance and was shaking badly.
The family now has a public defender, although Cecily said the attorney had not yet sat down with them to hear Abel’s full side of the story at the time of the interview.
The case is scheduled to go before a judge on August 17.
As soon as the case went online, netizens couldn’t agree on whether this was as*ault or part of the game
Some people believe the charge is excessive because throwing balls at other players is the basic purpose of dodgeball.
One commenter wrote, “She forgot the first word... DODGE,” while another added, “Not his fault the ex-girlfriend couldn't master the first half of the rules.”
Someone asked, “And the teacher was where during this?”
A fourth wrote, “The name of the game LITERALLY tells you what to do.”
However, some people pushed back against those reactions.
One commenter said, “The boys always whaled that ball at the girls. They thought it was fun to throw as hard as they could at us. It did hurt, but to be charged for it is hilarious!”
Another said, “I mean…they were participating in gym class. This sets a legal precedent. Participating in class can get you charged with a crime?”
“I’ve played dodge ball in school, no incidents,” wrote one netizen
