Police in Cape Breton are investigating after a high school teacher was attacked while he tried to break up a fight after school Thursday.
The incident took place behind Sydney Academy, after the dismissal bell.
A male teacher was breaking up a fight between two students at the school when two other boys turned on him.
“Me and my friend were going to the store to get some chips and we saw a few people fighting,” says Grade 10 student Benedict Joe. “Then we saw a student attack the teacher and throw him on the ground.”
“The teacher got pushed into the fence, then another kid hip-checked him,” says Grade 11 student Brittany Deveaux.
The principal at Sydney Academy and the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board spent Friday reviewing video of the incident, which was posted online.
The video has since been removed and now the incident is an assault investigation. Police say they are looking for two suspects.
“We have suspended, dealt with the students who were in the altercation,” says Charles Sheppard, co-ordinator of school services for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board.
“Now there are the two other individuals, who are not students, and that’s in the hands of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service.”
The incident is a hot topic on Facebook and Twitter today, with most students condemning it, saying physical contact with a teacher is a big ‘no-no’ and shows a lack of respect.
However, one of the boys accused in the attack took to his Twitter feed shortly after the incident, and appeared to be bragging about it.
“I think it’s a very horrible thing to happen,” says Grade 12 student Kale Fitzgerald. “He was only trying to do his job, trying to help people out.”
Sheppard says among the many things that disturb him about the incident, is the lack of respect shown to the teacher.
“You have two individuals who are acting very disrespectful to a teacher, an authority figure, within a school,” says Sheppard.
The teacher suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Police expect charges will be laid, once they find those responsible for the assault.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
