A Grissom Middle School teacher was hospitalized with chest pains
after she stepped in to break up a fight between two girls Thursday.
The teacher, whose name is being withheld, was listed in stable
condition at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, where
she was taken after collapsing in the school's hallway during an
altercation that erupted at about 12:15 p.m.
According to St. Joseph County Police Department Sgt. William Redman,
two school resource officers and other staff members who viewed
surveillance video of the incident said the teacher was not hit as she
moved in to help squelch the fight.
"It appeared to (the resource officer) and the other adults at school
... that the teacher was not struck and went down on her own," Redman
said.
The sheriff's spokesman noted that the teacher complained of chest
pains and shortness of breath, and was given "some medication" at the
scene.
When the fistfight broke out between two female teenagers as students
passed to classes following a lunch period, the victim, another adult
female and two male teachers attempted to separate the girls.
At some point, the victim, who is in her late 50s and reportedly has a
coronary stent from a previous heart procedure, "backed away and went
down to the ground on her own," Redman said.
Medics responded and transported the teacher by ambulance to Saint
Joseph Regional Medical Center.
The matter is under investigation by Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp.
officials and is also expected to be turned over to county juvenile
authorities, Redman said.
It's the third time this month in which a St. Joseph County teacher
was injured trying to break up a fight -- and the second incident to
mar Grissom in as many weeks.
Police were called to Muessel Elementary School in South Bend Tuesday
morning after a teacher was hit twice in the arm by a 9-year-old
student while trying to intercede in an altercation.
On Feb. 6, a 55-year-old teacher at Mishawaka's John Young Middle
School tried to break up a fight between two 14-year-old girls when
she was struck in the face.
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. officials continue to probe a
12-year-old sixth-grader who allegedly brought a replica World War II
grenade to Grissom Feb. 9.
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
jharrell@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6368
after she stepped in to break up a fight between two girls Thursday.
The teacher, whose name is being withheld, was listed in stable
condition at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, where
she was taken after collapsing in the school's hallway during an
altercation that erupted at about 12:15 p.m.
According to St. Joseph County Police Department Sgt. William Redman,
two school resource officers and other staff members who viewed
surveillance video of the incident said the teacher was not hit as she
moved in to help squelch the fight.
"It appeared to (the resource officer) and the other adults at school
... that the teacher was not struck and went down on her own," Redman
said.
The sheriff's spokesman noted that the teacher complained of chest
pains and shortness of breath, and was given "some medication" at the
scene.
When the fistfight broke out between two female teenagers as students
passed to classes following a lunch period, the victim, another adult
female and two male teachers attempted to separate the girls.
At some point, the victim, who is in her late 50s and reportedly has a
coronary stent from a previous heart procedure, "backed away and went
down to the ground on her own," Redman said.
Medics responded and transported the teacher by ambulance to Saint
Joseph Regional Medical Center.
The matter is under investigation by Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp.
officials and is also expected to be turned over to county juvenile
authorities, Redman said.
It's the third time this month in which a St. Joseph County teacher
was injured trying to break up a fight -- and the second incident to
mar Grissom in as many weeks.
Police were called to Muessel Elementary School in South Bend Tuesday
morning after a teacher was hit twice in the arm by a 9-year-old
student while trying to intercede in an altercation.
On Feb. 6, a 55-year-old teacher at Mishawaka's John Young Middle
School tried to break up a fight between two 14-year-old girls when
she was struck in the face.
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. officials continue to probe a
12-year-old sixth-grader who allegedly brought a replica World War II
grenade to Grissom Feb. 9.
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
jharrell@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6368