LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A student who witnessed another student attack her teacher inside a Gwinnett County classroom Tuesday said students tried to call administrators for help, but no one came due to a broken intercom.
The fight happened at Discovery High School on Tuesday afternoon. The teacher has not been identified, but Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson obtained video of the student punching the bloodied teacher.
On Thursday, Channel 2′s Wendy Corona spoke to a student, who wanted to remain anonymous, but said she saw the whole attack unfold.
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“All of the sudden I hear the student say ‘And you think it’s a joke?’ and then next thing I look up and he’s beating my teacher,” she told Corona. “And then my teacher falls on the ground and the other individual is still going at him, beating him. And my teacher yelled ‘Aah, help me!’”
The witness said one of her classmates pushed the attacking student to the floor before the attacker’s sister came to his defense.
According to the witness, another student ran to the teacher’s desk and pressed the button for the intercom multiple times to report the attack to the front office staff, but the intercom system hadn’t worked since the previous day.
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The witness said shortly after the attack, the student who fought back to defend his teacher feared retaliation from the attacker.
She said the attack left the students in the classroom stunned and scared.
“I feel scared to go back in there because it replays in my head constantly. Every time I walk out into the hallway, everybody is talking about it,” she said. “I feel like it affected me and the group of students in my classroom emotionally and it’s like really traumatizing.”
Gwinnett County Public Schools confirmed the intercom system was down due to an electrical issue, but is now fixed.
The school district said administrators were still able to respond in just minutes.
GCPS superintendent Calvin J. Watts responded in a letter to parents on Wednesday. Watts described the incident as “unacceptable.”
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On Monday, the teacher who was hit spoke with the parents of the student who punched him about his poor performance in class, according to the teacher’s wife. The next day, that teacher was beaten in his classroom.
It’s unknown what disciplinary action or criminal charges the student attacker will face.
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