By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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- A substitute teacher allegedly threatened to grab fifth-grade students in her class at White Knoll Elementary School by the neck and kill them.
- The teacher is no longer employed by the Lexington School District One and has been banned from all district property.
- Some of the students reported the comments to faculty, and an investigation is ongoing.
A substitute teacher in South Carolina is under investigation after allegedly threatening to kill fifth-grade students.
The teacher, who was not named, is no longer employed by Lexington School District One after the alleged incident at White Knoll Elementary School in West Columbia on Thursday, a spokesperson for the school district confirmed to Newsweek.
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The woman, who had been employed by the district since December last year, has also been banned from all district property.
An incident report from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, obtained by Newsweek, said the substitute teacher had allegedly made a threat in class.
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The school's principal reported that the substitute allegedly "got mad at the class misbehaving and made a statement that she could 'grab them by the neck and kill them,'" the report said. The substitute reportedly grabbed her belongings and left the school campus before deputies arrived on the scene.
No charges have been filed, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office told Newsweek.
Some of the students in the class reported the comments to the faculty, the school district's spokesperson said.
"Administrators and school counselors met with the students to help calm them down and reassure them that they were safe," the school district said in an email to parents, provided to Newsweek. "Parents of students who were in the class received personal phone calls shortly after the incident occurred. Law enforcement was contacted and came to our school along with members of the district's safety/security."
Terry Nine said her grandson said the substitute teacher had cursed at students and made racially insensitive comments.
"My grandson couldn't even go to school today because he was so upset," she told Columbia news station WIS-TV.
Last week's incident comes after a teacher's aide at another elementary school in Columbia was arrested and fired after authorities said she taped a four-year-old to a chair. Olivia Michelle Murray, 25, was charged with cruelty to children, according to the sheriff's department.
Authorities said the incident occurred in a 4K classroom at Seven Oaks Elementary School in Columbia on March 1.
"Based on our investigation, Murray, who works as a teacher's aide, used duct tape to tape the student's legs to a chair Wednesday while the teacher was out of the classroom," Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in a statement. "Murray told detectives the student had been moved to the back of the classroom for being disruptive and not listening."
Lexington-Richland School District 5 issued a statement confirming that Murray had been fired.
"Due to the alleged conduct, the individual is no longer employed with the district, and we are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation," the statement said.
Update 04/04/23, 9:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and comment from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and Lexington County School District One.
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