Assault of teacher leads to lockdown of Lakewood High

Friday, November 19, 2004

Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print

St. Petersburg Police are investigating an incident that led to a lockdown of Lakewood High School Friday morning.

A first-year Pinellas County teacher was escorting a 10th-grade student to the office for misbehaving in class when the student reportedly beat up the teacher in an empty hallway.

According to St. Pete Police, the student struck the teacher several times in the face with a belt before the teacher fled to a classroom.

Then Lakewood Principal Fred Ulrich took action.

"The teacher made an allegation that he thought there was a knife or sharp instrument," said Ulrich. "So, we locked the campus down so we could sort out the details and get control of the situation."

The student was taken into St. Pete Police custody and questioned. It is not known if he will face criminal charges or punishment from school district administrators. Investigators are trying to determine if he has a prior history of misbehavior.

Parent Carolun Bolden was one of several parents who rushed to the school to make sure their kids were safe.
The school was locked down to protect the crime scene.

"The first thing I think about is the safety of my kids and also the teachers and staff at the school," said Bolden.

Dr. Ron Stone with Pinellas County Schools said the lockdown wasn't intended to scare parents, but to protect the crime scene.

"This particular situation was used more to keep students contained so law enforcement and administrators could do their job out in the hallway to gather facts in the case," said Stone.

The teacher was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and released.