MARGATE, FLORIDA: Khadijah Muhammad, a Margate elementary school teacher, was arrested and later charged with child abuse after she apparently assaulted a five-year-old kindergarten student and slammed him on the ground for throwing a piece of paper.
The 54-year-old was arrested from her home in Lauderdale Lakes a day after the incident after security footage showed her physically assaulting the child, who was not one of her students, at Margate Elementary School in Broward County in front of other students and staff members on October 10.
Why did Khadijah Muhammad assault the kindergartener?
The surveillance footage showed that the child, who was sitting in the hallway of the kindergarten classrooms, threw a piece of paper in the direction of some classmates when Khadijah Muhammad then marched over and grabbed the boy by his left wrist "in an aggressive matter," according to a police report obtained by WPLG.
Then, using his arms, Muhammad, who was serving as a hall monitor, hoisted the student off the ground and twisted them before grabbing hold of the back of the child's shirt and shoving him across the hallway.
She pulled the student's jacket off his back during the two-minute confrontation and kept holding onto the boy by his arms, wrists, shirt, and jacket.
"Towards the end of the video, which was partially blocked from the camera view, she appeared to grab him around his neck and slam him to the ground," added the report.
Before Muhammad was taken into custody, the responding officers checked over the security tape. "I determined that defendant knowingly, willfully, and without any legal justification committed an intentional act of violence towards a child that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury," noted an officer in the account.
They continued, "One could reasonably conclude that a caregiver would not have engaged in the damaging acts toward the child for any valid reason and that the primary purpose of the acts was to cause the victim unjustifiable pain or injury."
What did Broward County Public School say about Khadijah Muhammad's arrest?
Following Khadijah Muhammad’s release on bond, Broward County Public Schools officials issued a statement saying that she has been reassigned to a role that would put her away from pupils.
"The safety and well-being of students are always our highest priority. The school is working closely with law enforcement regarding this situation, and the teacher involved has been reassigned away from students and the school pending the outcome of the case," read the statement.
Parents also expressed their indignation at the claims to 7News Miami. "Yeah, it’s very shocking. I’m surprised, to be honest," said Nicole Zeeb, whose child goes to the same kindergarten.
She continued, "It’s alarming but you know, they handled it well, I’m assuming. They took care of what they needed to. I didn’t even know anything, that’s a little alarming."
Another parent, Emily Fernandez said, "I’m very surprised because my daughter right now is in kindergarten, but that is not her teacher. Thank God. But that is very surprising to hear that it’s from our school — very surprised — and not being notified about it, that’s surprising too."
