A safety agent and a teacher were slashed inside a Bronx elementary school early Thursday before students arrived on campus.
“A 36-year-old female guidance counselor was walking into P.S. 69 Journey Prep School when the suspect rushed in behind her,” ABC 7 reported, adding the incident happened at the building on Thieriot Avenue just before 8:00 a.m.
The suspect was reportedly the ex-boyfriend of the counselor and allegedly began assaulting the woman, but an assistant principal tried to step in to help.
Another teacher, Jared Nash, also ran over to assist but the suspect, Claudio Villar, allegedly used a sharp object to cut the teacher’s arm.
“Hector Garcia, the 55-year-old school safety agent also intervened and was slashed behind the ear,” the outlet said.
A livestreamed video showed officers outside the building keeping an eye on the scene as people walked past.
Nash provided a description of the suspect’s car. When an officer saw the vehicle, Villar was stopped on the opposite side of the school campus.
Meanwhile, the overall index of crime in New York City spiked 36.5 percent in March compared to the same month last year as the state’s bail laws began affecting the gubernatorial race:
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who assumed office following Cuomo’s resignation, has proposed minor changes to the laws in the form of allowing judges to establish bail based on a defendant’s criminal past and making bail eligible for repeat offenders and gun-related crimes. Still, far-left jailbreak organizations – including those linked to Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros – are lobbying against her proposals to ensure the laws go unchanged.
As to the recent incident, the agent and teacher were transported to a hospital suffering from non-life-threatening injuries, and according to the ABC report, the ex-boyfriend was in custody.
In a video on Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams (D) addressed what happened:
According to the NYC School Safety Coalition, there were 41 assaults on agents this school year, which was an increase of 30 percent compared to last year.
“Last week, another School Safety Agent was assaulted at PS 158 in Brooklyn. PS 69 and PS 168 only have one School Safety Agent in the building due to the severe staff shortage caused by City Council budget cuts,” the coalition said, according to ABC 7, noting it had recently urged Adams to increase the number of agents.
Meanwhile, the suspect was charged with assault, obstruction of governmental administration, and criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.