Mom sneaks past school security and attacks teacher during class, New York cops say
A parent blended in with students before district officials say she attacked a teacher inside a New York classroom.
The 31-year-old woman was short in stature and had her hood up when she sneaked past security at Lincoln Middle School on Feb. 16, Syracuse School Superintendent Anthony Davis said at a Feb. 20 news conference, Syracuse.com reported.
Moments later, Davis said the 4-foot-10-inch parent pummeled the teacher in front of her class.
Officers were called to the school around 7:30 a.m. and learned an employee had been “physically confronted” by a parent, Syracuse police said in a news release. Investigators said the parent “specifically located” the teacher, then struck her in the face repeatedly.
“She’s going to have some long-term issues,” Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick told WSTM, adding that the teacher suffered some broken bones. “I know her nasal passages were severely affected by it.”
The teacher was treated at a hospital, Syracuse police said. Her condition wasn’t known as of Feb. 22.
Authorities said the parent left shortly after the attack but was later arrested on assault and burglary charges.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Fitzpatrick hinted that the attack may have been spurred by a disciplinary report about the woman’s child, who’s a student at the school, Syracuse.com reported.
“This led to security being called and then (the student) said, allegedly said, that ‘well my mother will take care of this,’ ” the district attorney told the outlet.
Officials said the attack had seemingly been planned.
“It’s not a spur of the moment thing where I see a teacher mishandling my child and I rush to the defense and strike the teacher,” Fitzpatrick said, as reported by WAER. “This is something she went into that building, according to the evidence that have available, to assault this teacher.”
McClatchy News reached out to the Syracuse City School District for comment Wednesday, Feb. 21, and was awaiting a response.
The Syracuse Teachers Association, a labor union representing the city’s teachers, called the incident “alarming” in a statement given to WSTM.
“Schools should be safe spaces for students and educators at all times, and any form of violence will not be tolerated,” it told the station.
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