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High School Football Player Loses Finger After Possible Firecracker Blows Up In Face

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — A high school varsity football player lost part of his index finger Thursday after a possible firework blew up in his face on campus.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. at Augustus F. Hawkins High School in South Los Angeles.

Brent Hawkins Jr.'s parents said it's unclear whether their son picked up a firecracker off the floor or if it was thrown at him.

"Somehow, someway, he picked up something or someone threw something at him. And whatever it was, it made his finger explode to the point where his left index finger was barely there or hanging on by a thread. At this point, they're talking about amputating the finger," father Brent Hawkins Sr. said.

Hawkins Jr., who is hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, was looking forward to meeting with scouts and colleges, but is now worried he may have lost his chances at a football career.

"I'm hurt. To see my baby, his career, his dreams, to see him so emotional because he's thinking that…he didn't know how bad it was. So to know that he lost his finger, he just broke down," mother Quishawn Hawkins said.

School police confirmed an incident happened on campus.

The Los Angeles Police Department will investigate.

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