Student arrested after teacher punched in high school class

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

A Western High School teacher was punched in the face Tuesday by a student, who was later arrested and charged with assault, school police said.

The teacher, whose name has not been released, was treated by paramedics for an injury to his nose, said Darnell Couthen, spokesman for Clark County School District police.

The student, a junior at Western, was arrested and taken to Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of assaulting a school employee, a gross misdemeanor under Nevada statute. He is not being identified because of his age, Couthen said.

The incident occurred during second period, when the teacher was conducting English class, said a school official. The teacher was not on campus today, the official said.

What might have provoked the attack was under investigation, Couthen said.

Western, on Decatur Boulevard off U.S. 95, reported one incident of a student assaulting a staff member during the 2003-04 academic year. The district logged 96 reports of students assaulting teachers or other school employees during the 2003-04 academic year.