FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 9th-grade student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland appeared before a judge over Zoom on Tuesday morning after she was accused of attacking her teacher a day earlier.
The girl was with her parents when she appeared before Judge Michael Orlando. The state said she has officially been suspended for 10 days and the district has recommended her for expulsion.
She could also face charges after allegedly assaulting her teacher Sharon Cutler and hitting a student who tried to intervene.
According to an arrest report, the student struck Cutler in the head and face multiple times with her hands, placed the teacher in a headlock and bit her right pinky finger, then hit her classmate with a cellphone.
She was led out of the school in handcuffs, video shows.
Local 10 News reached out to Cutler, but she asked for privacy. She told her followers on social media that she is doing OK.
According to her LinkedIn page, Cutler has been at Stoneman Douglas since 2004 and teaches finance classes while also being an advisor for the school’s DECA program.
Crissa Ruggiero, another student at Stoneman Douglas, says the incident has been the talk of the school ever since it happened.
“I was just very confused, especially because like, I don’t know, I would never picture a student attacking a teacher purposefully,” she said. “My mom told me this morning about what happened and I realized I was told yesterday about it, and I was just very confused and shocked, honestly.”
Broward County Public Schools sent Local 10 News a statement saying “The school resource officer, security team and staff immediately responded to the incident involving a student and teacher. No serious injuries were reported. ... The student responsible will face appropriate school disciplinary consequences.”
The student accused of the attack is now on house arrest and has been ordered to stay away from her teacher, the classmate she’s accused of hitting, and the school.
She’s scheduled to be back in court later this month.
Correction: A previous version of this story included information from a student who Local 10 News later learned did not witness the incident.