Police Investigate Alleged Assault inside Philadelphia Classroom
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A shocking turn of events inside a Philadelphia elementary school – A mother and father stand accused of assaulting ten students as well as teachers and a school police officer.
According to eyewitnesses, it all began with an argument between students. One of the students, we're told, texted her parents about the argument and her parents are alleged to have taken matters into their own hands.
Sierrah Edwards was there and she says her friend was the intended target.
Edwards recalled, "I got pushed, I got tossed by other people trying to get to the fight."
Despite being assaulted herself, Edwards says all she could think about was her friend knocked to the floor and her teacher shoved aside, "My friend, she was getting stomped by everybody in every which way and my teacher, today, her arm was swollen and she couldn't move it. She got scratches and cuts on it."
It happened Tuesday afternoon inside a third floor classroom at the Jay Cooke Elementary School.
According to Edwards, parents and family members of a student in that class arrived to confront a classmate. But in the end, we're told as many as 10 students and 3 staffers, including the school police officer were assaulted.
Edwards' mother, Regina Cooper asked, "How are these parents able to get to the third floor of the school, they bypassed the office to get to the third floor."
School District spokesman Fernando Gallard responded, "Actually they were allowed into the school because we had an event open to parents."
Officials maintain the school police officer was present and tried to prevent the confrontation, to no avail. Edwards isn't surprised, claiming the officer was the only security personnel on site and this in her view is proof, the school needs to do more.
Cooper said, "If things went wrong, say things went wrong because that's the only way you can fix the problem."
"We will take a look at our safety procedures at the school and see how we can improve it given what occurred," Gallard said.
Police say on their end, they have identified the parents involved and they are right now in the process of working with the District Attorney's office to make an arrest in this case.
