Five New Jersey high school students were charged Friday with assault for allegedly punching and kicking a math teacher.
Three boys and two girls, ages 14 to 16, were suspended following Monday's attack and will be “disciplined to the fullest extent of the law,” said Irvington High School Superintendent Ethel J. Hasty.
The teacher, Muideen Oladoja, had just finished up his eighth period algebra class when he was beaten by the students, school and police officials said.
A 15-year-old student who was known to Oladoja approached the teacher in his classroom and began knocking things off his desk, according to the New Jersey Star Ledger.
The student left and Oladoja locked the door to the classroom, but soon after, the boy and another student returned -- and the first student punched the teacher in the face, the newspaper said.
The 44-year-old teacher tried to fend off the attack but was dragged into the hallway by the two students. That's where three more students joined the assault, punching and kicking him, police said.
Oladoja was treated at a nearby hospital and is doing “well” in his recovery, Hasty said. She added that his students are “anxious for him to return” to class.
The names of the students have not been released because they are minors, and it is unclear whether they have obtained lawyers.
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School officials say the motive behind the attack is unclear. Hasty said neither Oladoja nor his students could come up with a possible reason.
”It does not make sense,” Hasty said.
