Teacher punched, student arrested

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 11:18 a.m.

A Western High School teacher was punched in the face Tuesday by a student, who was later arrested and charged with battery, 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 16-year-old 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 extent of the 40-year-old teacher's injuries were not immediately known.

"At this point we're waiting to find out if the nose was broken," Couthen said.

What might have provoked the attack was under investigation, Couthen said. It's possible the charges against the student could be upgraded to a felony, depending on the evaluation of the teacher's condition and the outcome of the investigation, Couthen said.

The incident occurred during second period in a classroom, said a school official. The teacher was not on campus today, the official said.

Western, on Decatur Boulevard at 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.