A 17-year-old student with special needs who was filmed violently attacking a teacher’s aide at a northeast Florida school last week will be charged as an adult.
The teenager was arrested for aggravated assault with bodily harm following the Feb. 21 incident at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, a town in Flagler County.
The state’s attorney’s office will charge him as an adult, NBC affiliate WESH reported Tuesday. He is being held on $1 million bail.
The Flagler Sheriff’s Office reported that the teenager told investigators he was upset when the assistant took his Nintendo Switch during class.
Surveillance video shows the victim walking down the hall and turning to see the student, who is 6ft 6in and weighs 270lbs, as he lunges at her, knocking her to the ground.
Surveillance video recorded the moment the student kicked and punched the teacher multiple times in the back and head.
The teacher had to be taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“This student’s actions are absolutely horrific and completely unnecessary,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. “We hope the victim can recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident.