'Slap A Teacher': Louisiana girl punches disabled teacher in disturbing TikTok trend
COVINGTON, LOUSIANA: A 64-year-old differently-abled teacher from a high school in Lousiana had to be hospitalized after she was slapped by one of the students, who was apparently participating in the 'Slap A Teacher' TikTok challenge. A video of the shocking incident was shared on TikTok on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. The senior English teacher at Covington High School, who has not been identified, can be seen sitting at her desk and talking to 18-year-old Larianna Jackson. Within a few seconds, Jackson suddenly attacks the woman on her face and continues to punch her till she falls off her chair onto the ground.
The shocking assault left the teacher seriously injured and she was eventually escorted to a hospital for treatment. In the video, other students can be heard saying in the background, "B**** she better f***ing not," as a warning about Jackson's plan. Police are suspecting that the attack happened as a result of the 'Slap A Teacher' challenge on TikTok. Meanwhile, Larianna Jackson has been arrested and charged with felony battery of a school teacher. Presently, she is detained at St Tammany Parish Jail. Covington Police Department later released a warning statement against the dangerous trend, informing, "The Covington Police Department would like to remind everyone that anyone who participates in such a challenge will be booked accordingly."
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The 'Slap A Teacher' TikTok challenge started making headlines towards the end of September 2021. Even before it gained popularity, it was vehemently condemned by social media users. According to a screenshot of TikTok trends for every month of the year, October is supposed to be "Slap A Teacher" month. The trend asks a student to walk up to their teacher or school staff member and slap them and run before they can face the consequences. However, before fleeing the crime scene, they will have to make sure to capture the whole thing on camera, or else the challenge does not count as being completed. The trend was heavily criticized as disrespectful and problematic. Earlier, other shocking TikTok trends like 'Devious Lick', 'Benadryl Challenge', 'Strangulation challenge' or 'Blackout challenge' have caused severe harm, injury, and even death among young teenagers.
Though TikTok insisted they took action to ban the challenge, Jackson's act puts a question mark on the claim. TikTok clarified their stance in their latest tweet, stating, "The rumored "slap a teacher" dare is an insult to educators everywhere. And while it is not a trend on TikTok, if at any point it shows up, content will be removed."
Though 'Slap A Teacher' failed to gain as much popularity as other TikTok challenges, Larianna Jackson was not the first to try it out on their teacher. Last week, on October 1, educators at an elementary school in South Carolina revealed that one of their students assaulted a teacher by hitting her on the back of her head. At that time, the Director of Safety and Transportation at Lancaster County Schools, Bryce Vaughan, issued a warning stating, "This type of behavior, just like theft and destruction of property, is not a prank. It's criminal behavior. Any student who physically assaults a staff member will be held responsible both legally and by board policy. Assault on a staff member is an expellable offense which means the student is removed from the school for the rest of the year." A similar 'Slap A Teacher' incident was also reported at a school in Springfield, Missouri, though not many details are known about the same.