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Delaware County Boy Dies After Allegedly Being Punched At School

By Brad Segall

DARBY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – A 12-year-old Delaware County boy, who was punched during an altercation at school in what his family calls a bullying incident, has died of his injuries.

The Southeast Delco School District in a letter to the school community confirms the death of Bailey O'Neill over the weekend.

The letter says the district is "deeply saddened by this loss" and additional counselors are being brought in to help his classmates cope.

O'Neill was in a medically induced coma since he started having seizures just days after he was allegedly punched by another student on January 10th at Darby Township School, where he was a sixth grader.

Delaware County DA Jack Whelan says the investigation into the incident has intensified over the past few weeks.

"We do have witness accounts as to what happened in the schoolyard, both from children and also from a teacher's aide and a teacher -- so that schoolyard was supervised at the time of this incident," Whelan tells KYW Newsradio.

Authorities say the incident was recorded on surveillance video, although Whelan says it's hard to see.  He says they'll now await a report from the medical examiner in Philadelphia on the cause of death before deciding on charges.

The school district says it's cooperating with the police investigation.

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