ODESSA, Texas — An eighth-grade student at Bowie Middle School was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a public servant, a first-degree felony, on Wednesday, according to an Ector County ISD spokesperson.
The charge stems from the student attacking a teacher in a classroom, which can be seen in a video being circulated online.
ECISD released a statement about the incident saying:
"This is shocking and terrible, and will not be tolerated. We have been dealing with fights and violence recently, and want our community to know that behavior is unacceptable and we will do all we can to prevent it. The student was arrested and charged with a first-degree felony and will also face disciplinary action through the Student Code of Conduct. 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 address mental health challenges, while we also hold them accountable for their actions. Our district will continue to address these concerns with students and families."
The condition of the teacher is unknown at this time. ECISD said in a situation like this, the maximum punishment they could hand down to this student according to the Code of Conduct would be expulsion.
The district plans to support the teacher with ECISD Superintendent, Dr. Muri said.
"We’re providing full support to that teacher to make sure that she feels confident and comfortable to return to work and we’ll continue to support her and her family as we navigate the situation," Muri said.
Dr. Muri also said incidents like this one will not be tolerated.
"Specifically with students involved in situations like this we have an obligation to follow our Student Code of Conduct and this situation of violence is not tolerable, specifically this was an assault on a teacher so we will certainly use our every avenue legally to make sure this type of situation doesn't happen again," said Muri.
Bowie Middle School's cellphone policy states students can have phones but they must be turned off. The policy also states that cell phones can only be used when students are outside of the school. Failure to comply with the policy can result in the phone being confiscated and picked up at the end of the school day by a parent.
This is all the information we currently have on the situation. We will update this story as more details are released.