4-year-old Staten Island boy hit in the head with brick, allegedly by neighbor

NEW BRIGHTON (WABC) -- A 4-year-old boy on Staten Island is lucky to be alive after he was caught in a violent feud between two neighbors, his family and the man who lives across the street.

The boy was hit in the head with a brick and thrown, police say, by the neighbor.

How did the dispute escalate that far?

4-year-old Jusiah Mopon has a gash along the right side of his forehead that took 11 stitches to close and it's still swollen.

Police and witnesses say a 30-year-old man threw a brick that hit Jusiah in the head.

"It's very scary. That's my youngest child. He's only 4 years old, he didn't deserve that," said Antoine Mopon, the victim's father.

It all started on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful spring day and the kids in the neighborhood couldn't wait to play outside until someone let a pit bull free near the children.

"A pit bull loose on my kids and a couple of his friends which is his brother and they had to run and jump on top of cars," said Taneesha Greene, the victim's mother.

The next day, when they saw the man without his dog, Jusiah's brother asked him about it and that's when the man threw the brick.

"It was a whole group of kids, he just launched it at the whole crowd," said Jerome Cameron, the victim's brother.

No one answered the door Tuesday at the home of 30-year-old Marcillio Perez, and there may not be an answer for a while.

Perez is charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child.

All of that comes a little late for 4-year-old Jusiah who doesn't seem to want to go outside now, even when the weather's nice.