A teacher has been hospitalized after an attack by a 5-year-old student left her unresponsive, police said. The 5-year-old allegedly beat the teacher up after she tried to contain an incident between him and another student.
This incident comes in light of the recent classroom staffing shortages school are now faced with. Newsweek was provided a copy of the police report stemming from the March 2 incident, by the Pembroke Pines Police Department in Florida. The attack happened at Pine Lakes Elementary School.
The police report stated that officers with the Pembroke Pines Police Department were called to the elementary school after an unidentified teacher said she “needed support” on the school’s radio system. Once the police arrived, an officer noticed the teacher in a room in a “faint state.”
The teacher “was clearly weak and dazed,” when they arrived the report noted.
The responding officer was informed that a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old student got in an altercation. They threw items around the classroom and even flipped chairs.
During the altercation, the teacher tried to remove the 5-year-old student from the classroom and bring him to a “cool down” room, stated the police report. The “cool down” room was described as an empty smaller classroom.
After the 5-year-old was brought to the “cool-down” room, the unidentified teacher was allegedly attacked by the 5-year-old with hands, feet, and fists, the report said.
The unidentified teacher “began coughing and dry heaving,” when officers arrived at the school following the incident. This prompted the responding officer to place the teacher on her side “to maintain an open airflow and prevent possible choking,” according to the police report.
The officer failed in an attempt to get a response from the teacher who was allegedly attacked.
The report stated that the teacher “continued to blink and breathe regularly but at no point was able to vocally respond or show signs of a response.”
“Rescue then got to the room and immediately got her on the stretcher,” the police report said. “Rescue advised they would be transporting her to Memorial Regional Hospital.”
Newsweek was told by Amanda Conwell, a public information officer for the Pembroke Pines Police Department, that the teacher involved in the incident “has since returned home and is not under hospital care.”
“Due to the child being below the age of reason, no arrests have been made at this time and no charges were filed with the State Attorney’s Office,” Conwell told Newsweek. “The child and their family were referred to Child Protective Services for additional resources. Our investigation is still active, however, so this information may change.”