Early this week, in Bunnell, Florida, footage was released of a Matanzas High School student attacking a female paraprofessional when she took his Nintendo Switch, as released in an article by CNN. The 6 ‘6, 270-pound high school student rammed into her, knocking her unconscious on the ground before punching and kicking the unconscious woman. According to the news release, for these actions, the 17-year-old was charged with Felony Aggravated Assault and Bodily Harm.
According to the teenager, the reason for this assault was because the teacher, Joan Naydich, took away his switch during class. Multiple other people were required to take the student off of Naydich due to the force he was using to repeatedly attack her, as she was unconscious, and unable to defend herself. In a statement made by the Sheriff of this case, he stated:
“The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “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. Our schools should be a safe place – for both employees and students.”
After the incident, the teenager was taken into custody in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. From there, he was sent to the state Department of Juvenile Justice. In response to this event, the school made a statement on their tolerance of violence stating:
“Creating a safe learning and working environment on our campuses is critical. Violence is never an appropriate reaction,” said Flagler Schools Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt.”
Initially, Flagler County Schools sent out a report saying that for the sake of Naydich’s privacy, they did not want to release any information regarding her medical condition at the time. However, The Daytona Beach News Journal mentions that a few days after the initial report, a GoFundMe was released to support Naydich, which notes that she is now recovering at home after being released from the hospital. Currently, her GoFundMe has earned over $75,000 of its 80,000 goal thanks to the publicity this event has gotten, which Naydich has posted her thanks in updates on the GoFundMe website.