23 April 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Kaarst: Chairs are pulled up in an empty classroom at Albert Einstein High School. Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa (Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A Georgia student is facing criminal charges after a dispute that left a teacher with a broken leg. Heritage High School in Rockdale County suspended the ninth grader following the violent altercation captured on video. Over the weekend, the clip received viral attention across social media platforms.
According to WSB-TV Channel 2‘s interview with Rockdale County School District officials, the unidentified student is likely facing criminal charges. The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying they’re “actively investigating this incident.”
Following the altercation on Jan. 26, the student was taken to a Juvenile Detention Center. Meanwhile, the unnamed teacher is reportedly recovering from a broken leg. The school district released a statement after the incident denouncing violence against teachers.
“Rockdale County Public Schools is investigating an incident where a student allegedly attacked a teacher during class today. RCPS does not tolerate student violence towards any staff members. Students who harm other students or staff will be disciplined according to our Student Discipline Code of Conduct and will be appropriately charged by law enforcement.”
It’s still unclear what provoked an argument between the student and the teacher. However, in two videos of the altercation, the student seemingly suggests the teacher was “talking about [her] mom.” Channel 2 spoke with a student who witnessed the fight, who says it was more shocking than scary.
“It wasn’t scary, it was shocking,” the student said. “She’s a pretty good teacher, but how she talks, she talks with aggression,” the student witness said. “How she talks to kids is not a proper way to talk to them.”
The witness student’s parent threw some blame at the teacher as well, saying, “teachers are not taking a class on how to deal with children.”
Local outlet, The Rockdale Newton Citizen, reports the educator has been teaching for 27 years and currently teaches language arts at Heritage High. Additionally, the outlet claims the teacher was covering the class for another teacher on the day of the attack.
The less-than-a-minute viral clip begins with the female student and teacher standing face-to-face, with the student yelling profanities while the teacher attempts to make a phone call.
“I don’t give a f**k if you an adult or not,” the teenager repeatedly yelled while standing at the front of a classroom. “You not finna talk to me like that, you dumb a** b***h,” the teen told the teacher.
From there, the interaction escalates as the teacher asks the teen to “get out [her] face,” and the teen responds by knocking the teacher’s phone to the ground. The teen pushes against the teacher’s hands when she lifts them to create distance between them.
At this point, the teacher walks towards the classroom door, seeking help from another teacher. The teen uses the opportunity to try to lock the teacher out of the class, but the teacher intervenes.
This leads the teen to shove the teacher into the door, and the teacher reacts by holding the teen away from her body. The teen then starts swinging at the teacher’s head and face, and eventually, they both end up on the hallway floor until other educators separate them.
Another angle of the video shows the moment the teacher and student fell to the ground, presumably when the teacher broke her leg.
