Teacher hurt, students maced during fight at King Science Center

By Jake Anderson

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — A teacher was assaulted and injured during a disturbance at an Omaha middle school on Feb. 11, according to a police report.

It happened at King Science Center, located at 3720 Florence Blvd., around 2:10 p.m. In a letter to parents after the incident, King Science Center Principal Jane Laughlin said the school resource officer used mace while responding to the altercation.

According to a police report, a fight started in the hallway of the school. The female teacher, an English language learner, heard the commotion and stepped out into the hallway.

The teacher told officers that staff members were attempting to break up the disturbance and was requested to block a doorway to prevent involvement from other students. The 33-year-old teacher said a student attempted to get past, saying “he had to get his phone.”

The teacher continued to block the door and told the student to leave.

According to the police report, she told officers that the student said, “move (expletive), I gotta get my (expletive) phone,” and pushed the teacher to the ground.

According to the police report, the teacher fell and hit her head on the floor. She was transported to UNMC and released after being cleared of any serious injuries. Students involved were also examined by health professionals, according to a letter sent to parents.

Officers investigated the incident and confirmed that a student shoved the teacher to the ground.

“We continue to work with the families of the students involved and we’re cooperating with the Omaha Police Department as they investigate. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken,” Laughlin wrote in a letter to parents regarding the incident.

The district, nor Omaha police would make anyone available for interviews.

Community activists said this is a growing problem.

“There’s been an uptick of incidents that have happened within our schools and so there’s resources that are available in our schools for parents and families,” Teresa Negron said.

Negron is the executive director of YouTurn. Her organization works with those at the highest risk of gun violence, especially adolescents.

She said the pandemic took away programs teens were used to.

“All of those things stopped, so imagine that happens, you don’t have any way to resolve conflict. Our children are not being taught conflict resolution at an early age. It is difficult for our kids to generally handle conflict but right now it is even worse,” Negron said.

In that time, police and community activists said gang activity picked up.

Negron said that lack of conflict resolution should be the focus.

Negron said there are many resources available, like YouTurn.

“You have Girls Inc. You have MAYS. You have the Hope Center for Kids, North Star, Boys and Girls Club. We all collaborate. All of us work together. We work with schools and in schools,” Negron said.

“Pay attention to the behaviors and don’t wait until it gets to a point where you’re saying, ‘Ok, now I think it’s time,’ The time to start is when you start seeing a change,” Negron said.

Negron adds that as sports, after school activities, and community programming pick back up, she hopes the issues die down.

“The best way to go about resolving what we’re facing right now is working together as a community, looking at conflict resolution and offering outlets,” Negron said.

“My hope is that we will be in a position where a lot of these different organizations that aren’t at full capacity will be at full capacity and we can help with the school system.”

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