Three fifth grade students in California have been suspended after allegedly putting rat poison in their teacher’s coffee and cupcake.
Fresno Unified School District said the students, aged 10 and 11, planned to poison a teacher at Balderas Elementary School in December but the plot was foiled when one of the group had second thoughts and knocked over the cup containing the poison, CBS47 reports.
Police are investigating the case but no charges have been filed so far.
The school learned of the poisoning plot when a student’s mother approached the school telling them her son was a hero who had saved a teacher’s life.
It was reportedly the mother of the same boy who had placed the rat poison in the teacher’s coffee cup.
The boy is accused of masterminding the scheme and convinced a female classmate, whose home was being treated for rats, to bring some poison to school telling her to "bring some of that, we have rodents too".
Susan Bedi of the Fresno Unified School District said the group had taken swift and appropriate action against the students involved.
However, the Fresno Teachers Association (FTA), which claims to have only learned of the incident weeks ago, is unsatisfied with the action saying teaching conditions in the district are dangerous and the enforcement of discipline has been inconsistent.
"Had they been successful there is no telling what we would be talking about today," FTA president Greg Gadams said.
"The potential death of a teacher; charges against a family member? Who knows."
It remains unclear why the students may have attempted to poison their teacher.
ninemsn
Fresno Unified School District said the students, aged 10 and 11, planned to poison a teacher at Balderas Elementary School in December but the plot was foiled when one of the group had second thoughts and knocked over the cup containing the poison, CBS47 reports.
Police are investigating the case but no charges have been filed so far.
The school learned of the poisoning plot when a student’s mother approached the school telling them her son was a hero who had saved a teacher’s life.
It was reportedly the mother of the same boy who had placed the rat poison in the teacher’s coffee cup.
The boy is accused of masterminding the scheme and convinced a female classmate, whose home was being treated for rats, to bring some poison to school telling her to "bring some of that, we have rodents too".
Susan Bedi of the Fresno Unified School District said the group had taken swift and appropriate action against the students involved.
However, the Fresno Teachers Association (FTA), which claims to have only learned of the incident weeks ago, is unsatisfied with the action saying teaching conditions in the district are dangerous and the enforcement of discipline has been inconsistent.
"Had they been successful there is no telling what we would be talking about today," FTA president Greg Gadams said.
"The potential death of a teacher; charges against a family member? Who knows."
It remains unclear why the students may have attempted to poison their teacher.
ninemsn
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