A Texas fifth-grader needed to get six stitches to his forehead for an injury deemed so concerning that he had to be airlifted out of school.
His mother, according to ABC13, said that the incident at Post Elementary School in Houston, Texas stemmed from an altercation between her son and his teacher over a juice box during lunch.
Kiana Randolph said that her 11-year-old son Kamauri Williamson told her that he had been accused of stealing a juice box.
“They’re supposed to be in a safe place while you’re at work, and to get this type of reaction of a head being busted open, especially over a juice box,” Randolph told the news station. “Nobody deserves this, especially my son. I would never had thought that would have happened to my kid.”
Randolph added that some of the altercation was captured on school surveillance and he had seen some of it.
“You see the teacher grab the hoodie, and you see, at one point my son’s feet lift up off the ground, he’s basically being choked,” she added.
The teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave, and the incident is under investigation, Cy-Fair ISD said in a statement.
Kamauri has since returned to fifth grade since the teacher is on leave, but his mother remains concerned about what might happen if the teacher returns to the classroom.
“[That teacher] needs to not be able to work with children again,” Randolph said. “Just, not at all. That was just very, very upsetting to watch as a mother. It is very hurtful. No one’s child should be treated like that in any manner.”