Fort Good Hope (Nov 15/04) - A Fort Good Hope teen is showing signs of recovery after he was savagely beaten with a hammer in the early morning hours of Nov. 6.

Lindsey McNeely, 17, was punched, kicked and hit repeatedly with a hammer by four youths from the community, his mother Rose told News/North.

"His forehead and ears are all bruised. There was blood in his urine, but that's cleared up now, so that's good," she said.

"He knows who they are and goes to school with one of them, but he's in a different grade."

Her son has been making daily trips to the health centre, where the staff have been monitoring his progress.

"The first 24 hours were the worst," she said. "He wasn't allowed any painkillers at first because of his head injuries."

Lindsey was walking home at about 2 a.m. after watching movies at his aunt's house when he was attacked, his mother said.

Rose said she is full of regret after the incident because her son phoned for a ride before the incident happened, but she didn't go to pick him up.

"I regret it now," she said, her voice trembling. "I was in bed and I was too tired to get up and warm up the truck."

So far, the only thing she said police have told her is that they're looking into it and she shouldn't let her son go out alone for the time being.

Const. John Turcotte of the Fort Good Hope RCMP detachment declined to comment on the incident because "it's an ongoing investigation."

In the past, a great deal of violence in the community has been blamed on the actions of youth gangs. Turcotte said he was not aware of any gang activity at present in Fort Good Hope.