Elementary staffer with Taser threatened student, Channelview ISD says
The Hamblen Elementary educator is now out of the job after the incident on Thursday.
CHANNELVIEW, Texas (KTRK) -- Parents of a Channelview ISD elementary school may be stunned to hear that one of its staff members not only threatened a child but also used a device meant for law enforcement and self-defense while doing it.
The school district told Eyewitness News on Friday that it learned a Hamblen Elementary staff member was reportedly armed with a Taser when she made a verbal threat against a student in a classroom on Thursday.
The student, identified as fifth grader Noe Guerrero, said it all started as a joke between him and his friends.
"My friend thought it would be funny to close her laptop as a joke. I did it, but she pulled out a taser and said 'I'm going to tase the (expletive) out of this kid', and then she buzzed it, and I ran out of the class, scared for my life", Noe said.
Noe said he ran to the counselor's office to tell them what happened. When he got home, he also told his mom.
"I was in shock," Marie Quezada, Noe's mother, said.
When Quezada found out, she said she was happy to know her son was not hurt but wondered why no one called to tell her.
"My first reaction was to call the superintendent," Quezada said. "Let them know what's going on because I was not notified at the moment."
She said they transferred her to the school's principal who then scheduled a meeting with her on Friday to discuss the incident and get a statement from Noe.
"Administration was notified, an investigation was launched immediately, and Hamblen Elementary parents were made aware of the incident via our school messaging system," the district wrote in a statement, adding that no students were harmed during the ordeal.
"We take these types of allegations very seriously as the safety of our students is always our top priority," the district's statement concluded.
The district confirmed that the Hamblen Elemntary employee was dismissed in the wake of the investigation.
That's not enough for Quezada.
"She could go to any other district and hurt another kid and traumatize a whole classroom," she said.
Quezada said her son is in special education classes and is working on his behavior after being diagnosed with ADHD and autism. She wishes his teacher had more patience.
"I feel that she shouldn't be teaching," the mother said. "If she's not capable of teaching or handling the situation right with a 10-year-old that has a condition, a medical condition, then she shouldn't be licensed to be a teacher."
Noe plans to return to school on Monday, hoping a scary incident like this doesn't happen again.
"I don't think that any teacher should treat any other student the way that they treated me" he said.
Channelview ISD did not identify the teacher. Officials also didn't say whether the former staffer is being criminally charged.
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