An East New York third-grader is afraid to go back to school after a classmate allegedly stabbed him with a pencil, an incident his parents say could have been avoided.

According to Raymond Louther Jr.'s parents, the problem started Jan. 4 when several students chased their son home from P.S. 306. The 8-year-old's parents claim they asked the school to move their son out of the class, but their request went unheard.

"He had a pencil and he scratched me in my eye," the third-grader said of the in-class attack that allegedly took place after the group chased him home. "He hit me in my neck, hit me with the pencil in my head and stuff."

The boy suffered a scar under his eye. Doctors said he was lucky that the pencil didn't scratch his cornea.

Raymond Louther Sr. said school administrators asked him not to call police, but he believes their solution is unacceptable. "They say they want to do a 'safety transfer.' Transfer him to another school ? but why should he have to leave? He's not the problem. He's the victim," said Louther Sr.

Principal Lawrence Burroughs would not comment on the incident, citing an ongoing investigation.