16-year-old charged with manslaughter in death of 11-year-old hit in head with scooter

The victim, identified by family as Thomas Haché, was airlifted to IWK Health Centre in Halifax after being struck in the head by a scooter during an assault in the northeastern New Brunswick town on Nov. 3, 2022.

According to a GoFundMe page set up for his family, he suffered a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain. He was in a coma and in critical condition.

Two days later, he died in hospital.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on Nov. 7, 2022, and released from custody, as the major crime unit continued to investigate.

On Thursday, a charge of manslaughter was laid against a 16-year-old boy, Cpl. Hans Ouellette, spokesperson for the New Brunswick RCMP, announced.

Ouellette could not immediately be reached to confirm it’s the same boy who was arrested last year, but the accused is scheduled to appear in Bathurst provincial court on Oct. 26, according to a news release.

Shippagan Mayor Kassim Doumbia previously described Haché’s death as heartbreaking for the community of about 2,500. The young boy was well-known and popular at school, he said.

The situation hits especially hard in a small town like Shippagan, where “everybody knows each other,” said Doumbia.

He pleaded at the time for restraint and understanding, noting the families of the two young people involved were suffering.

RCMP previously reported that members of the Lamèque detachment responded to a report of an assault with a weapon outside a residence in Shippagan on the afternoon of Nov. 3.

“When members arrived on scene, they found that an 11-year-old boy had been struck in the face with a kick scooter by a 15-year-old boy,” a news release said.