Classroom fight ends with teacher in hospital, student facing felony charges
By La’Nita Brooks and Hannah Mose
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FLINT, Michigan (WNEM) — A fight in a classroom ended with a local teacher hospitalized and a student looking at felony charges.
The attack was caught on video, and it has been making rounds on social media. A female student is seen throwing a chair and knocking a teacher unconscious.
“It’s a violence that we haven’t seen in Flint schools, so it’s our first time seeing this type of violence, so we’re concerned about it,” said Karen Christian, the president of United Teachers of Flint.
The fight happened Thursday, Sept. 28 at Southwestern Classical Academy in Flint. The teacher seen in the video was trying to break up a dispute between two students before becoming a victim herself.
Christian said a total of three chairs were thrown.
“There was an altercation between two girls in a classroom and to the point where one of the girls started throwing chairs across the room. One of the final chairs that she threw hit one of the teachers and knocked her out,” Christian said.
The teacher who was involved in that incident was released from the hospital that same day and has already returned to the classroom.
“We have lots of conversations coming up. We have meetings today about it as well making sure that we’re talking about how we’re keeping everyone in the classroom safe as well as, like I said, the mental health of our students and our staff, making sure that we’re taking care of them,” Christian said.
Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones said in a letter to parents, “This act of violence is unacceptable and goes against the values we hold dear in our educational community…The student involved in this incident will be held accountable according to the law and in accordance with the Flint Community Schools Student Code of Conduct.”
Christian said the union will be taking every legal action necessary to make sure of this.
“The student has been arrested. The student has been put up for expulsion. The UTF is very adamant that we’re making sure that everything happens that needs to happen law-wise or whatever to make sure that this incident is taken care of,” Christian said.
The district is offering counseling and supportive services to students and staff who were affected by this incident.
The Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office said the student has been charged with two felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
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