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Matanzas High student to be charged as adult in alleged attack
A 17-year-old student accused of ambushing a teacher's aid in a hallway at Mantanzas High School in Palm Coast – knocking her unconscious and repeatedly hitting her because he was upset his Nintendo Switch was taken away – will be charged as an adult, court records show.
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A 17-year-old student accused of ambushing a teacher's aid in a hallway at Mantanzas High School in Palm Coast – knocking her unconscious and repeatedly hitting her because he was upset his Nintendo Switch was taken away – will be charged as an adult, court records show.
Online court records show that the case was transferred to adult court last week, where he now faces one felony count of aggravated battery on an elected official or education employee. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond, records show.
An arraignment is scheduled for March 6, 2023.
Content warning: The video below depicts violence and is intense. It may be unsuitable for some and viewer discretion is advised.
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Video shows moment deputies say Florida teacher's aid was knocked unconscious by student
New surveillance video has been released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office which appears to show a Florida high school student knocking a school employee unconscious, investigators said.
Surveillance video released last week by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office shows, officials say, the teacher's aid walking down the hallway and briefly looking back, when she is pummeled by the alleged student, who is described as approximately 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and 270 pounds.
The video appears to show the student pushing the aid several feet, and knocking her to the ground, where she then becomes unconscious. The boy is then seen kicking and punching the unconscious woman at least 15 times in the back and head, officials said.
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Teen arrested after violently knocking teacher out over Nintendo Switch
A 17-year-old student at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast was arrested for allegedly knocking a teachers aide unconscious after she took away his Nintendo Switch video game
According to the arrest affidavit, the student told deputies that he was upset that the teacher's aid took away his Nintendo Switch and made comments that he would "beat her up" and "kill her."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Flagler Schools said the employee who was attacked has been with the district since 2004 and as a paraprofessional since 2021. That teacher has since been released from the hospital.
FOX 35 News dug into the court records and found that the teenager had a history of violence. According to court records, the 17-year-old was charged with battery three times in 2019, and again this month.
Court records also show he was previously in the Department of Juvenile Justice and completed his program. For this latest charge, the state attorney's office has transferred the teen to adult court for prosecution. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly supports that decision.
"This student is just six months shy of age 18, and it was also a brutal attack on this teacher," said Sheriff Staly. "Fortunately, this didn't result in a fatality. This could be a homicide we are talking about."
FOX 35 found that there used to be a specific school for troubled teens in Flagler County, for students who couldn’t function in a traditional classroom environment, had been charged with a crime, or was considered too violent to attend classes on traditional campuses. However, Flagler County voters failed to pass a 50-cent millage property tax levy to pay for the school back in 2013. It would’ve cost homeowners under $50 a year. At first, its budget was majorly slashed, and eventually, it was closed altogether.
"We had a school resource officer assigned to that mini-school if you will, and that's been eliminated," said Sheriff Staly. "Maybe this is something the district should look at."
The teen will be back in court next week.