(Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:16 PM – Thursday, February 29, 2024
A 75-year-old substitute teacher at an Indianapolis high school was recently assaulted by a student. However, the student was never arrested and merely received a “slap on the wrist,” if that.
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On February 1st, Rob Gooding, 75, was reportedly substitute teaching in a Perry Meridian High School class when a student abruptly attacked him, using a Chromebook laptop as a weapon.
The 75-year-old told reporters that he had informed the school of his desire to press charges against the young assailant.
“Anything like this ever happened before? No. No,” Gooding said.
According to Gooding, he was in the middle of teaching a lesson related to business practices when the student began attacking and beating him.
“I saw him come up, and he said, ‘I’ve had it,’ and he came down and I blocked the Chromebook. That’s where the hole was. And it shoved me down like this and then all of a sudden he hovered over me and with his left hand whammed me,” Gooding said.
In the public images that Gooding shared on social media platforms, he is seen with a severe black eye that protrudes outward while displaying the side profile of his face.
“This man child was 6-feet-2, 280 pounds,” Gooding said.
After paramedics arrived, Gooding said that a school district police officer was assisting him and standing by his side. The substitute teacher immediately reiterated that he wanted to press charges.
“Then he said to me, ‘We have been instructed by the higher-ups, which is the district, not to handcuff, or arrest the kid,’ and I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘Yes, that came from the higher-ups,’” Gooding said.
After the violent attack, the Perry Township Schools shared a statement regarding the assault.
“We are disturbed by the allegations involving a Kelly Services employee and student at Perry Meridian High School. Perry Police responded to the incident quickly. A police report was forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors will then make a criminal charge decision. Due to confidentiality reasons, Perry Township Schools cannot comment on disciplinary action it takes against its students. We can say, however, the district has zero tolerance for violence.”
Goodwin stated that they have yet to arrest the student and that he still wants to press charges.
“Oh, yeah! And I haven’t heard a thing. If I was out there on Meridian and he did that to me, where would he be? He has to be accountable for his actions and that’s what I feel,” Gooding asserted.
A spokesman for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says that the case remains under investigation.
The student’s identity and headshot has not been released publicly due to his age, according authorities.
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