A 15-year-old student from Mississauga, Ont., who was injured in an alleged attack at a rugby game that resulted in another student being charged, died Friday morning.

Manny Castillo, a Grade 10 Lorne Park Secondary School student, suffered severe head injuries during a junior rugby game at the school Wednesday afternoon.

Manny Castillo, 15, was fatally injured during the final seconds of a rugby match Wednesday.
(Peel District School Board)

The school lowered its flag to half-mast after staff and students heard news of Castillo's death in the late morning.

Grief counsellors were on hand to help students cope with the loss of the "well-liked" boy, said Peel District School Board spokesman Brian Woodland.

The boy's family has decided to donate his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network, police said. An autopsy has been scheduled for Saturday to determine the cause of death.

Witnesses say a rival player picked Castillo up in the final seconds of the game, and drove him head first into the ground. Peel Region police say the incident happened in an area outside regular game play.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with aggravated assault Thursday. He has been released into the custody of his parents under strict conditions.

Castillo's family has called the incident a "freak accident" and urged police Thursday to drop the charges, saying it's enough that one family has been devastated.

"They were not playing volleyball. They were not playing checkers," the boy's uncle, Hector Castillo, told the Toronto Star. "We truly believe it was a freak accident …. I know that [Manny] would not want anything to happen to this kid."

Police, however, say the altercation went beyond a regular rugby brawl. They are still investigating the incident and may upgrade the charge to manslaughter since Castillo has died.

Family members and police are asking for any witnesses with videotape or pictures of the incident that may help the investigation to come forward.

Hundreds of students and friends were at the high school for a candlelight vigil Thursday night.

Castillo's teammates visited him earlier Thursday, giving a signed rugby ball to the teen's family to show the support of their close-knit team.