*A teacher in Pittsburgh was seriously injured by the parent of a student for taking away the child’s cellphone. Because of the school district’s no cellphone policy, teacher Janice Watkins, 46, confiscated the phone of a fourth grade student at Pittsburgh King PreK-8 School on the North Side.
The child bit the teacher in retaliation. But even worse, the child’s mother threatened the teacher saying she “was going to get even,” according to sources.
The teacher left the school to get the bite checked out at a local clinic. But the mother followed the teacher to her car. When Watkins rolled down her window, the mother threw a brick into the car and she was hit in the face.
Watkins got out of the car and was jumped from behind by two men.
How, you may ask, can we expect our children to solve problems without violence if their parents don’t prove to be the example?
According to Pittsburgh police, the assault happened around 3:15 p.m. at the busy intersection of Route 65 and the West End Bridge. Watkins had just left school when a black SUV approached her vehicle.
“She said, ‘I put my window down, and the woman threw a brick through my window,’ and hit her in her face,” said Betty Davis, Watkins’ mother. “And that’s when she said, so-and-so ‘I told you that I would get you,’ and [Watkins] said, ‘When I got out of that car,’ she said, ‘I didn’t realize it was two other people,’ she said, but she felt something hit her in the back, and it was two men.”
Bleeding and in shock, Watkins managed to call 911. The punk-ass assailants fled after the attack.
All of this because a child’s cellphone was taken away? What kind of beasts are these? It’s a PHONE people! What is a fourth grader doing with a phone in school anyway??
Watkins mother, Betty Davis, is certainly being gracious in handling this. Yes, she is holding vigil at the hospital with her daughter, but she says she will let God handle the rest.
Watkins suffered facial injuries and lost a tooth. She was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
“Her head is hurting real bad, her face is right on the one side it’s swollen,” said Davis. “So they took her down. They said they want to do a scan to make sure everything’s OK.”
Police seek to identify the man that was with Daishonta Marie Williams, 29 — who was arrested on Thursday morning and stands to face charges of aggravated assault, stalking, terrorist threats and recklessly endangering another person.
Read the statement from the school district here.
I swear, we’ve got to do better.
Wishing Ms. Watkins a full and speedy recovery.
Watch the CBS Pittsburgh video report below.
