Attack on instructor could have been impressed by TikTok problem, police say

A Louisiana highschool scholar is going through a felony cost of battery after she punched a instructor a number of instances in a classroom Wednesday, authorities mentioned, an assault that was recorded on video and will have been impressed by a TikTok problem.
The scholar, Larrianna Jackson, 18, who attends Covington High School, about 45 miles north of New Orleans, knocked the 64-year-old English instructor to the bottom and saved hitting her, police mentioned Thursday.
The instructor, who’s disabled and has hassle strolling, was launched from an space hospital after being handled for accidents to her arms and head, mentioned Sgt. Edwin Masters, a spokesperson for the Covington Police Department. The assault stays underneath investigation, and extra arrests had been anticipated, police mentioned.
Investigators seized the cellphones of some college students who recorded the assault, based on Masters, who mentioned that at the very least one of many movies had been posted on Instagram and Snapchat.
Police had been making an attempt to find out if the assault was a part of a so-called TikTok problem, a social media craze amongst youngsters that critics concern might escalate from recording movies of acts of theft and vandalism to documenting assault.
“The supposed TikTok challenge the month of October was: Slap a teacher,” Masters mentioned. “There’s just talk amongst students and faculty that it may be related to the TikTok challenge.”
It was not instantly clear whether or not Jackson, who continued to be held on the St. Tammany Parish Jail on Thursday, had a lawyer. She might face one to 5 years in jail and a $5,000 tremendous if convicted of the cost, battery of a schoolteacher, authorities mentioned.
In an announcement Thursday, Frank J. Jabbia, the superintendent of the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools, condemned the assault. He mentioned that college officers had not been in a position to join the assault to a TikTok problem, although.
“This attack is disturbing, and so is the fact that other students stood by, recorded it and posted it on social media,” Jabbia mentioned. “The school system is taking the appropriate disciplinary action against all students involved. We don’t have any evidence from our investigation that this incident is related to the TikTok challenge, but any acts of violence, including participation in illegal social media trends, will not be tolerated in our school system.”
TikTok condemned any efforts to make use of its app to advertise violence and mentioned on Twitter on Wednesday that these kinds of movies had been banned from the platform.
“The rumored ‘slap a teacher’ dare is an insult to educators everywhere,” TikTok mentioned. “And while this is not a trend on TikTok, if at any point it shows up, content will be removed.”
The assault occurred round 3:15 p.m. Wednesday simply after the ultimate dismissal bell, Masters mentioned. Most of the scholars had already left the classroom when Jackson approached the instructor, who had been sitting at her desk, based on Masters and a video taken by one other scholar that was launched by the Covington police.
Seconds earlier than the primary punch was thrown, somebody on the video says, “I’m going to start running.” The digicam had already been rolling for greater than 22 seconds within the video, which included a caption, “this is covington fa ya,” with a cranium emoji.
The video confirmed the scholar, whom authorities recognized as Jackson, punching the instructor a number of instances earlier than the recording stopped.
“The video is circulating very heavily right now,” Masters mentioned.