Teacher repeatedly slapped during fight between students

ROME, Ga. — Community members are reacting to video from a local middle school showing a teacher caught in the middle of a fight.

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School officials are remaining tight-lipped about the incident, but residents are not.

WSB-TV spoke residents who were in disbelief when they saw YouTube video of an incident inside a classroom at Rome Middle School in Floyd County.

“That’s a very unfortunate situation, unfortunate for that teacher to get caught up in that,” said resident Rosemary Ringer.

The cell phone video appears to show two students fighting, with a teacher standing in the middle, then getting caught in a crossfire of slaps.

“People just taking things into their own hands and not stopping, taking a breath, assessing the situation,” said resident Abby Holcomb.

WSB-TV reached out to Rome school district officials to find out what happened. At first, they said they didn’t know what we were talking about. But after we sent them the video, the superintendent called and said they are aware of the incident, but had no further comment.

Officials did not tell us when it happened or the circumstances. Residents said the situation highlights what some teachers have to deal with.

“I know my daughter went to school for early childhood and once she got in the classroom and saw the behavior of the students, she said, ‘It’s not for me,’ and she took another avenue and I can’t blame her,” Holcomb said.

The superintendent said he would not tell us about any disciplinary action, citing privacy issues.

Residents we spoke with said Rome Middle School is a good school and they believe this was an isolated incident.

Cox Media Group