Video shows moment deputies say Florida teacher's aide is knocked unconscious by student upset she took Switch
Staff rush to teacher's aide knocked unconscious by student at Florida high school
Investigators said that a 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. Content Warning: The video depicts intense violence and may be unsuitable for some. Viewer discretion is advised.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Content warning: The video above depicts violence and is intense. It may be unsuitable for some and viewer discretion is advised.
New surveillance video released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office appears to show the moment that a student allegedly attacked an employee, knocking her to the ground, and repeatedly punching her several times before others rush to help.
The Matanzas High School student is accused of violently attacking a teacher's aide because she took his Nintendo Switch gaming console away from him during class, deputies said in the arrest affidavit.
The 17-year-old Palm Coast, Florida boy was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated battery with bodily harm, the sheriff's office said.
Florida student arrested after violently attacking Matanzas High school employee over Nintendo Switch, deputies say
A 17-year-old student is accused of violently attacking and knocking a Matanzas High School teaching assistant unconscious because she took his Nintendo Switch gaming console away from him during class, according to deputies. (Video credit: Flagler Sheriff's Office)
The alleged incident happened on Tuesday, when a school resource deputy was notified that a teacher's aide had been physically attacked on campus. Officials said the woman was unconscious, bloody, and had severe injuries.
While in the classroom, the student made statements that he was upset that she took his game away and said he "will beat her up every time she takes away his game," an arrest report stated, and that "when he comes back he is going to kill her."
The surveillance video shows the teacher's aid walking into a hallway and then briefly look back, when she is pummeled by the student, who is described as approximately 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and 270 pounds.
The video appears to show the student push the aid several feet, and knock 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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Authorities said it took several school employees to get the student off of the woman.
In an arrest video recorded by a body camera worn by a School Resource Officer, the student can be heard asking, "Am I going to jail?" to which the deputy replies, "Yes, you are."
The teacher's aide was taken to a local hospital for treatment. She has since been released. The sheriff's office did not know the full extent of her injuries, but told FOX 35 she has broken ribs and significant bruising.
"I believe she will be out of work for at least several weeks, if she even plans on returning," the sheriff's office said in an email.
"The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for," Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. "We hope the victim will be able to recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident. Thankfully, students and staff members came to the victim’s aid before the SRDs could arrive."
The student was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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.
The district also explained that paraprofessionals are assigned to students with an individualized education program (IEP), and are not assigned to general education students.