Two high school students who were brutally beaten on the Biscayne Bay campus of MAST @ FIU are still recovering from the attack as police continue to search for a suspect.
James Critz, 16, and 15-year-old Isabela Perdomo were still at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood Tuesday, where their mothers spoke about their progress.
"It's just so random, you know you think you have two kids in a nice area and good kids and then they're attacked. This could've happened to anyone, it's scary," said Critz's mother, Tara.
Both teens suffered serious injuries and were taken to the hospital's intensive care unit, but Critz suffered the worst of it. His mother said he's now breathing on his own and responding to some commands but is in and out of consciousness after suffering from skull fractures and a broken bone in his spine.
Perdomo is in a lot of pain but is starting to eat and is able to intermittently recall what happened during the attack on Monday, her mother said. She is also dealing with a cracked skull.
The teens were working on a marine biology project on the campus when they were approached by a suspect, who attacked them with a tree limb, the parents said. He fled without taking anything.
"Certainly this incident came as a shock to all of us," Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. "I am dismayed, I am saddened, I am disturbed."
FIU has added more police presence to the campus as they work to find the suspect.
"It is crazy, it can happen to anyone," mother Elizabeth Perdomo said. "I want people to be vigilant, I want them to make sure that they know where their kids are at all times and to constantly tell them, even though they don't want to hear it, to not go anywhere without a large group, because as we learned now, you can't even be with a partner."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with medical costs.
