Video Shows Maryland Teacher Slamming and Choking 13-Year-Old Girl As Social Media Debates Who’s to Blame for the Viral Attack

A substitute teacher in the Maryland area is under investigation after being caught on video allegedly choking and slamming a 13-year-old girl earlier this week because she was watching a movie on her phone during class time.

But while the man faced possible discipline in the matter, the young girl became the target of social media critics, who accused her of disrespecting authority and stepping out of line.

The harrowing incident took place at Samuel P. Massie Academy, located in Forestville in Prince George’s County, and was witnessed by a classroom full of eighth graders. 

The student involved was taken to an urgent care facility in Largo for evaluation and treatment for minor injuries. While she was listed in stable condition, doctors held her to conduct multiple tests to ensure she was OK, including checking for a possible concussion.

The substitute has not been publicly identified. It appears that the matter is being handled internally and there is no indication so far that the police are involved. The school said its response would depend on the outcome of the investigation.

The victim and her mother spoke to local station FOX 5, saying they are still in shock after the teacher forcefully pinned the teen to a desk.

“He grabbed me by my chest and neck and slammed me on the desk while choking me,” the girl told the outlet, who identified the girl by her first name, Cassidy.

Just moments before the terrifying assault, she had finished her reading assignment and was quietly watching a movie on her phone at her desk, the girl revealed.

“I had been on my phone for the past 10 minutes before he snatched my phone up,” she said.

In the video, the substitute can be seen grabbing Cassidy’s phone from her hand and holding it out of reach.

“I kept reaching for my phone, and he kept pulling it back,” Cassidy said. “I was pulling on his shirt, cause why do you have my phone?”

Before she could react, the teacher grabbed her and slammed her down onto a desk, she said.

“I got up, and he was grabbing on my chest and stuff, and he pulled me away,” she said.

In the video, several students can be seen trying to pull the teacher off the girl, but he maintains his grip on the girl, whose legs were flailing wildly as she struggled against the man’s strength. 

Amid the chaos, two male students rushed the teacher from behind and pushed him in the back aggressively to force him to let the girl go, but it was ineffective, and the melee continued.

Cassidy said a school administrator and an assistant principal rushed into the classroom after hearing the chaos and cries for help.

Cassidy’s mother, Anitra Lang, said she was appalled by her daughter’s experience and remains in shock.

“I was sick to my stomach to see that a full-grown adult felt comfortable enough with putting his hands, not only on child but on a 13-year-old female and slamming her around like a rag doll,” Lang said. “I’m frightened not just for the safety of my child but the other students in the school.”

In a letter to families, Samuel Massie Academy Principal Brandi Smith stated that “this behavior is not in line with the standards we hold for our staff and students,” adding that “the staff member involved has been removed from the classroom pending the outcome of the investigation.”

“He is a teacher,” the girl’s mother said. “These are the people we are supposed to trust with the safety of our students.”

Lang is calling for stronger action, insisting the teacher should face charges in a clear case of child abuse.

The school stated that “disciplinary actions will be taken based on the findings.” 

The teacher’s employment status with the school district is unclear, while Prince George’s County Public Schools indicated that information could not be disclosed at this time.

Opinions on social media were mixed in a viral video post about the matter on Instagram. However, many voices blamed the girl for escalating the situation by not showing respect to the adult in the room.

“Whatever happened to when the teacher takes something, the parents are supposed to come and get it back?” one person asked in the comments section. “Any child willing to jump in the face of an adult has done this in their own home. Blame the parents.”

This led to a broader debate on the thread that faulted Cassidy for what happened, with several voices saying she came across as an entitled brat in the confrontation with the man and in her interviews with the media. Many of those leaving remarks claimed to be teachers.

“She’s talking as if she thinks it’s okay to grab and pull on this man when you know you’re not supposed to have phones let alone watch a movie,” one person said, accusing Cassidy of “cursing and berating” the man. “As a former in the trenches special Ed teacher she’s wrong. People talk about he’s the adult. These upper middle class/HS students think they’re grown and have no respect for authority.”

Comment after comment took the girl to task for unruly behavior and “acting grown.”

“We not gonna keep defending these kids putting their hands on adults!!!

Another person poured cold water on the girl’s story, calling the whole deal a “sympathy parade.”

However, other voices disagreed with these takes and put the blame squarely on the teacher who they said instigated everything by physically grabbing the girl’s phone.

“I don’t care what she did … a grown man should not be handling any child like that, especially a girl,” one voice argued.