Houston student punches teacher over cell phone

Publish date: 2024-03-23

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A Houston teen sucker-punched a teacher in the face after his cellphone was confiscated, video posted to social media shows.

In a 12-second viral clip making the rounds on Twitter, the agitated student towers over the paunchy educator and repeatedly asks for his “f–king phone.”

“Give me my f—king phone, n—a! I told you to give me my phone! Give me my phone!” the 15-year-old demands.

The teacher calmly replies, “Go sit down,” before the teen steps back and rocks the unsuspecting older man with a right-handed roundhouse punch.

Screams of horror from a bystander out of frame can be heard before the video ends. Incredibly, the teacher stayed on his feet.

Neither student or teacher have been publicly identified

The incident occurred at Lamar High School in Houston, where school principal Rita Graves sent a letter to families vowing such behavior will not be tolerated, according to KHOU 11.

“We do not condone and will not tolerate this type of behavior. It is always our top priority to maintain an environment where our students and staff are safe,” the principal wrote, adding, “Administrators will be looking into the cause of the altercation and continue to evaluate ways to prevent these occurrences in the future.”

“Unfortunately, this kid’s made a huge mistake,” Zeph Capo, union president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), told the station.

An agitated Houston student demands a teacher give him back his cell phone.
The student repeatedly demands the teacher return his phone.
When the teacher instructs the student to sit down, the student sucker-punches the educator.

Capo called for the student to be punished and kept away from the high school.

“By all means, he should not be allowed back on a regular campus,” Capo said. “This is not something that needs to be tolerated. … Unfortunately, we see too much of this. We see too much of this happening toward our teachers and toward our school employees.”

KHOU recently gathered data on reported assaults against school employees in the Houston area’s largest districts.

The stats revealed at least 520 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, which is more than double any of the five previous years, the outlet reported.

“I’ve certainly experienced angry reactions,” Capo said. “I’ve certainly experienced students throwing desks across the room.”

Principal Graves could not immediately be reached for further comment.

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