Nicolet student attacked in woods by boy dressed as ninja

River Hills - A 14-year-old Bayside boy is recovering from injuries after police say he was assaulted by a boy dressed as a ninja in a wooded area behind Nicolet High School. The victim was treated at St. Mary's Ozaukee for a cut to his forehead and released.

Police Chief Tom Rischmann said authorities are reviewing the incident to see if juvenile charges should be filed against a 16-year-old River Hills boy who is a suspect in the attack.

According to the chief:

After the end of the school day, at 2:45 p.m. Monday, a group of four or five students from the high school went into the Nicolet Woods, behind the high school at 6701 N. Jean Nicolet Road. The high school owns a large wooded area that abuts wooded tracts in River Hills.

The students told police they were looking for a ninja after hearing that two girls walking through the wooded area the prior afternoon were confronted by a boy dressed as a ninja.

The victim split away from the group and was then confronted by the suspect, hit in the head with a 2-foot-long black metal machete and dragged down a hill. The suspect allegedly said he was "protecting the land." The assault took place on private property.

The Bayside boy, bleeding heavily from the head wound, made his way back to the high school. Police were called at 3:24 p.m. He was taken to the hospital, where his wounds require 20 stitches.

Nicolet District Administrator Rick Monroe said the suspect is not a student at the school. The incident was not school-related, he said.

"The police are confident this is an isolated incident and there is no one else doing this," he said. "We did send a message to parents saying a student was assaulted and there is a suspect."

The school posted no-trespassing signs at the edge of school property last fall after receiving complaints from neighbors about students using the area as a shortcut.

Monroe said he went to the woods after school ended on Wednesday to see if students continued to use the shortcut. He didn't see anyone.