A Grissom Middle School teacher hospitalized with chest pains after she stepped in to break up a fight between two girls Thursday, was listed in stable condition at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka.
The teacher, whose name is being withheld, collapsed in the school’s hallway during an altercation that erupted at about 12:15 p.m.
According to St. Joseph County Police Department Sgt. William Redman, two school resource officers and other staff members who viewed surveillance video of the incident said the teacher was not hit as she moved in to help squelch the fight.
“It appeared to (the resource officer) and the other adults at school ... that the teacher was not struck and went down on her own,” Redman said.
The sheriff’s spokesman noted the teacher complained of chest pains and shortness of breath, and was given "some medication" at the scene.
When the fistfight broke out between two female teenagers as students passed to classes following a lunch period, the victim, another adult female and two male teachers attempted to separate the girls.
At some point, the victim, who is in her late 50s and reportedly has a coronary stent from a previous heart procedure, "backed away and went down to the ground on her own," Redman said.
Medics responded and transported the teacher by ambulance.
The matter is under investigation by Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. officials and is also expected to be turned over to county juvenile authorities, Redman said.
"The girls have been suspended,” Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. spokeswoman Teresa Carroll said Friday.
"The teacher is doing fine," she added. "The incident only lasted about a minute and the teacher was not injured in the fight."
It’s the third time this month in which a St. Joseph County teacher suffered physical consequences trying to break up a fight.
Police were called to Muessel Elementary School in South Bend Tuesday morning after a teacher was hit twice in the arm by a 9-year-old student while trying to intercede in an altercation.
On Feb. 6, a 55-year-old teacher at Mishawaka’s John Young Middle School tried to break up a fight between two 14-year-old girls when she was struck in the face.
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
jharrell@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6368
The teacher, whose name is being withheld, collapsed in the school’s hallway during an altercation that erupted at about 12:15 p.m.
“It appeared to (the resource officer) and the other adults at school ... that the teacher was not struck and went down on her own,” Redman said.
The sheriff’s spokesman noted the teacher complained of chest pains and shortness of breath, and was given "some medication" at the scene.
When the fistfight broke out between two female teenagers as students passed to classes following a lunch period, the victim, another adult female and two male teachers attempted to separate the girls.
At some point, the victim, who is in her late 50s and reportedly has a coronary stent from a previous heart procedure, "backed away and went down to the ground on her own," Redman said.
Medics responded and transported the teacher by ambulance.
The matter is under investigation by Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. officials and is also expected to be turned over to county juvenile authorities, Redman said.
"The girls have been suspended,” Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. spokeswoman Teresa Carroll said Friday.
"The teacher is doing fine," she added. "The incident only lasted about a minute and the teacher was not injured in the fight."
It’s the third time this month in which a St. Joseph County teacher suffered physical consequences trying to break up a fight.
Police were called to Muessel Elementary School in South Bend Tuesday morning after a teacher was hit twice in the arm by a 9-year-old student while trying to intercede in an altercation.
On Feb. 6, a 55-year-old teacher at Mishawaka’s John Young Middle School tried to break up a fight between two 14-year-old girls when she was struck in the face.
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
jharrell@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6368
