Florida teacher attacked by 5-year-old student at elementary school, police say

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — A South Florida teacher was “allegedly” battered by a 5-year-old student at a Broward County elementary school, authorities said.

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The incident occurred at about 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday at Pines Lakes Elementary School in Pembroke Pines, the Miami Herald reported. The teacher was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the newspaper reported.

According to a police report, a Pembroke Pines Police officer arriving at the school discovered the teacher “sitting on the ground against the wall, on the northside of the room, appearing to be in a faint state,” WSVN reported.

The report stated that the student used fists and feet to hit his teacher shortly after being placed in the “cool down” room after he and a 4-year-old began to throw objects at the teachers and flip chairs in the classroom, WPLG-TV reported.

As other faculty members attempted to restore order, they heard the teacher in the room with the 5-year-old, WSVN reported. The woman “advised on the school radio that she needed support,” according to the police report.

Pembroke Pines police spokesperson Amanda Conwell told the Herald in an email that “no weapon or object was involved in the battery,” adding that “the victim is conscious and cooperating with police.”

The incident is being treated as an “active criminal investigation,” the newspaper reported. There have been no arrests, and police said that charges may be unlikely due to the ages of the children, according to WSVN.

The names of the teacher and the student have been withheld.

“We’re talking about an elementary classroom, a 4- and a 5-year-old, that’s crazy,” one parent, who has a child in the class but asked not to be identified, told WSVN. “Because you continuously get this from one student, one, two students, it’s an issue.”

Broward County Public Schools provided a transcript of a phone call from Pines Lakes Principal Susan Sasse to families on Wednesday, the Herald reported.

“(There was) an incident that occurred in school today requiring a staff member to be transported to a local medical facility,” Sasse said in the message. “At all times during the incident, our campus was secured. As always, the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff continue to be my highest priority.”

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