Sandy MaloneCovington, LA – Police are investigating after an 18-year-old female student attacked a disabled 64-year-old teacher and knocked her from her wheelchair on Wednesday during what is suspected to have been a TikTok challenge (video below).
The incident occurred at Covington High School in St. Tammany Parish on Oct. 6, WBRZ reported.
Police said another student was filming when a conversation between a teacher and Larrianna Jackson turned violent.
“In the video, you can see the schoolteacher sitting at her desk where she appears to be talking to Larrianna Jackson,” the Covington Police Department said in a statement. “After a moment, Jackson punches the teacher, causing the teacher to fall to the ground. As the teacher fell to the ground, Jackson continues to violently closed fist-punch the teacher. The video then turns off at this point.”
In the background of the video, seconds prior to the attack, another student can be heard commenting on what’s about to happen.
“She better f—kin not,” the girl said. “I’m gonna start running.”
Police are investigating who posted the video on social media, WBRZ reported.
“If you watched the video, it sounded like they knew this was about to happen, so we’re looking into it and there may be more arrests that come out of this,” a Covington police spokesman told reporters.
Jackson was arrested and charged with battery of a school teacher, according to a post on the Covington Police Department’s official Facebook page.
She was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail.
Police said the investigation is ongoing but they think the attack was likely motivated by the #slapateacher social media challenge circulating on TikTok, WBRZ reported.
TikTok released a statement the same day the disabled teacher was hurt that condemned the challenge.
“The rumored ‘slap a teacher’ dare is an insult to educators everywhere. And while this is not a trend on TikTok, if at any point it shows up, content will be removed,” the social media platform tweeted.
St. Tammany Schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia told WVUE he was “devastated” by the video of the attack.
“For this teacher to be having a conversation with a student and then to be assaulted in this manner was very disturbing,” Jabbia said.
He said all of the students who were involved in the incident would face discipline, WVUE reported.
Jabbia said the 64-year-old teacher sought treatment for her injuries at the hospital and then was released to her home to recover with monitoring.
He said he didn’t know if she would return to teaching after the attack, WVUE reported.
“She is hurting,” the superintendent said.
Jabbia said he was not aware of any evidence that the incident was linked to the #slapateacher challenge but said any acts of violence in the school system would not be tolerated, WVUE reported.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. WARNING – Graphic Content:
Holly Matkin
