A North Carolina high school student has been charged with assault after being recorded on camera striking a teacher during a profanity-laced dispute.
The incident involving the unidentified youngster occurred on April 15 at Parkland High School in Winston-Salem, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) Facebook page. A video shared online shows the pupil standing over a seated teacher and punching her in the face.
“Do you think that affected me in any way?” the teacher is heard asking.
“Want me to hit you again?” the student asks, coming forward and repeating the inquiry.
“I don’t want it,” the teacher protests, before being struck again. The hit is so forceful that her spectacles fly off her face while the adolescent continues his profane outburst.
“Nobody’s even coming. “You were slapped,” the student says. “B—-, go back to teaching.”
According to local TV station WGHP, the school’s principal, Noel Keener, informed parents via SMS that the kid will face disciplinary discipline as well as criminal prosecution for “inappropriate and unsettling” behavior.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools spokesperson and superintendent did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry about what happened, but Superintendent Tricia McManus told WGHP that the student’s “behavior will not be tolerated” and that her focus was on making sure the “teacher is taken care of and has the support needed to navigate through the lasting effects of this incident.”
The superintendent also intends to propose expulsion from the school district in a hearing apart from the judicial proceedings.
“All of us should be outraged when those who educate us can be assaulted,” FCSO Sheriff Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr. stated in a statement. “We are praying for wholeness for those students who witnessed this and the educator involved.”
The student is charged with conveying threats and two misdemeanor assaults. The sheriff’s office said no more information will be published because he is a minor.
Former teachers at the school told WFMY-TV that they were not shocked to see the now-viral video of the assault circulating online, and that behavioral issues at the school worsened after pupils returned to class following COVID-19 closures.