By Ari Bloomekatz
Enquirer staff writer

Lakisha Jones holds two photos of her son, Treshawn, 8, who is at Children's Hospital after being seriously injured during an assault Sunday night. Enquirer file photo

AVONDALE - Doctors upgraded the condition of 8-year-old Treshawn Jones from critical to serious Tuesday, two days after his head was slammed into concrete during a fight with a 9-year-old boy.

"He's doing a little better," Treshawn's mother, Lakisha Jones, said Tuesday afternoon, noting that doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center earlier in the day had removed a breathing tube attached to her son.

Treshawn and the boy were involved in a fistfight about 8:30 p.m. Sunday at a park playground across the street from the Avondale apartment complex where they live.

Police continue to investigate; no charges have been filed.

While Treshawn's condition has improved, his mother is furious that no arrests have been made.

"If you (nearly) beat somebody to death, you should get time,'' Jones said. "I don't care how old."

A witness to the fight, which took place behind Hirsch Recreation Center in the 3600 block of Reading Road, said the boys had an ongoing dispute.

Carolyn Jones, Treshawn's grandmother and legal guardian, heard about the fight when her granddaughter alerted her. She ran across the street to find authorities performing CPR on Treshawn.

Rescuers revived Treshawn at the hospital, where he was placed on life support. Treshawn's mother said doctors told her he will have permanent brain damage.

Jones has remained at Treshawn's bedside since Sunday. She said he is able to open his eyes and is trying to talk. Despite the progress, Jones says she doesn't feel better, because her son is still hospitalized.

"It just don't make no sense,'' she said. "Kids killing kids."

E-mail abloomekatz@enquirer.com