What to Know
- A Hempstead woman has been convicted of assault after she knocked her daughter's teacher unconscious at a Long Island school in April 2015
- The 35-year-old mom allegedly attacked the 58-year-old teacher because she put her hands on her 12-year-old daughter, her attorney said
- She is due back in court for sentencing on Feb. 10
A Hempstead woman has been convicted in an April 2015 attack on a Long Island teacher that knocked the educator unconscious, the Nassau County District Attorney said.
Annika McKenzie, 35, of Hempstead was convicted of assault in the second degree, disorderly conduct and harassment in the second degree Thursday afternoon. She is due in court for sentencing on Feb. 10.
Authorities said McKenzie allegedly attacked the female math teacher at around 1:45 p.m. while classes were in session at the Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead on April 15, 2015.
McKenzie's daughter alleged that a confrontation took place between her and the then 58-year-old teacher, and as a result, she summoned her mother to the school, officials said.
Upon arrival, the mom bypassed security and administrative offices before physically assaulting the teacher, causing her to lose consciousness.
Hempstead Classroom Teachers Association President Elias Mestizo told Newsday the teacher was taken to the hospital after being put in a headlock and thrown to the floor.
Local
Mestizo told the paper witnesses told him the teacher was knocked unconscious at one point, left "on the floor for a couple of minutes."
McKenzie's attorney, Don Rollock, told NBC 4 New York after McKenzie's 2015 arrest that the parent came to the school because the teacher put her hands on her 12-year-old daughter.
"Teachers shouldn't lay their hands on kids," Rollock said.
