Teacher protects student from attacks by five others in Bayonne – NBC New York

An 18-year-old and four minors have been charged in an attack on a New Jersey high school student that left him unconscious — and it could have been much worse if a teacher hadn’t acted to protect the student with her own weapons . body.

The violent incident happened earlier this week on a street corner outside a school in Bayonne. The woman who broke up the fight has been identified by her family as a local special education teacher, but the superintendent asked that her name not be used.

The woman’s daughter said she had to watch the now-viral cellphone video of the attack several times before realizing it was her mother using her body to protect a young victim from being repeatedly kicked, punched and stomped by the group attackers.

“I was really in shock because of how brutal the attack is,” the daughter said. “I immediately FaceTimed her. Her eyes were filled with tears, I said, ‘Are you okay?’ She said something really bad had happened.”

Police have charged an 18-year-old man and four minors with aggravated assault. The victim, a high school student, was rendered unconscious and taken to the hospital, although his exact injuries were not clear.

As for the teacher who is now being hailed as a hero, she was not injured. Her family said they weren’t surprised she was willing to jump in.

“Thank God she got on top of him because there was no end in sight. Her standing on her feet didn’t do anything,” the victim’s daughter said. “I know her thought process just made it stop, and she kept saying, ‘We called the police, we called the police,’ and the kids wouldn’t stop. She just had to make them stop, so that’s what her body does.” did. There was no thought behind it.”

One parent said he recently saw similar fights in this area, just steps from a school.

“As a parent, one of the last worries is if a fight breaks out, but unfortunately it has become more and more common in the last two years,” the father said.

The minors involved in the attack range in age from 15 to 18 years old. The district superintendent said the teacher embodies what everyone who lives and works in Bayonne stands for.