Annika McKenzie Attack: Middle School Teacher Beat Unconscious By A Student’s Mother

Annika McKenzie decided to attack her daughter’s middle school teacher after hearing that the woman “put her hands on” the child. What actually happened between Engelhardt and McKenzie’s daughter is unclear.

According to the Canada Journal, Catherine Engelhardt was knocked unconscious by McKenzie, who walked past school security at the end of the school day, and confronted her 12-year-old daughter’s teacher in a very violent manner. What started off as a tense conversation turned physically violent within minutes. Sources say that Engelhardt refused to have a conversation with McKenzie unless she received a security pass, and that’s when things got ugly.

The attack was caught on camera by the school’s video surveillance system.

“It is claimed that she shoved the teacher against a wall, placed her in a headlock and then threw her to the floor in an incident caught on school surveillance cameras. The teacher was then set upon by other pupils including McKenzie’s 14-year-old niece, it is alleged.”

Annika McKenzie’s attack on Ms. Engelhardt, who has been with the Hempstead (New York) School District for the past 22 years, was brutal. McKenzie has been charged with second-degree assault and strangulation. Meanwhile, sources say that her niece has been charged similarly, but as a minor.

McKenzie’s bail was set at $5,000, though it is unclear if she posted. She is due back in court on Tuesday according to Newsday.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, other teachers and staff members at the school are concerned for their safety following the attack. After seeking medical attention, Engelhardt spoke with the media about the violence, and she said that she “fears for her safety.”

“I knew something violent was going to happen. It’s not like I thought a parent would do something, but I knew something violent was going to happen. I’ve warned [the school] time and again that the children have no respect for adults. Yes, I fear for my safety. They can’t control the kids,” Engelhardt said during an interview. It is unknown if she has plans to go back to the school. For now, she is said to be resting at home, but is in “a lot of pain,” and is “rattled.”

The Annika McKenzie attack that resulted in an arrest was not this woman’s first brush with the law. According to reports, she was arrested back in 2001 for grand larceny.

[Photo via the Hempstead Village Police Dept via Newsday]