‘Shocking and terrible’ actions against teacher lead to arrest of Texas middle schooler

A middle school student was arrested and faces a felony charge after a viral video showed him attacking a teacher in Texas.

“This is shocking and terrible, and will not be tolerated,” a spokesperson for the Ector County Independent School District said in a statement to McClatchy News of the Bowie Middle School student’s actions.

The student, who is an eighth grader at the Odessa school, appeared to be in a dispute with the teacher over a phone, KMID reported. He reached for a drawer in the teacher’s desk before they shoved one another.

As the confrontation intensifies, the student punches at the teacher, grabs her hair and pulls her to the ground. McClatchy News is not sharing the video due to the student being a juvenile.

The student was charged on Wednesday, Sept. 7, with aggravated assault of a public servant, KWES reported. The charge is a first-degree felony, the district spokesperson said.

The condition of the teacher is unknown, but KWES reported the students in the class “have either been moved into other classrooms or will now have a substitute teacher.”

The district called the behavior “unacceptable” and vowed the schools will do whatever they can to prevent it from happening again.

“We have watched violence among children on the rise here, around the state and across the country; we know our children are hurting and need us to help address mental health challenges, while we also must hold them accountable for their actions,” the spokesperson said. “Our district will continue to address these concerns with students and families.”

Odessa is in western Texas near the border to southeastern New Mexico.

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 3:34 PM with the headline "‘Shocking and terrible’ actions against teacher lead to arrest of Texas middle schooler."