Disabled Louisiana Teacher Assaulted As Part of TikTok Challenge
Police in a south Louisiana town say the latest social media "challenge" may be the reason why a Covington student is in jail and charged with assaulting a school teacher.
A young woman authorities identify as an 18-year-old student at Covington High School has been arrested for assaulting a teacher in the classroom Wednesday.
Covington police say that Larrianna Jackson was taken into custody after they responded to a 911 call reporting that a teacher had been attacked by a student.
Numerous reports say that the teacher, 64-years-old and physically disabled, was transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention following the attack.
Police discovered a video of the attack on the student's cell phone.
Investigators suspect that the violent outburst was premeditated and motivated by the latest "challenge" on the social media app, Tik-Tok. A previous KEEL report described it this way:
Sadly, the name says it all. It's called the "Slap a Teacher Challenge." And this bit of perverse derring-do encourages students to slap a teacher or staff member and run before being caught committing the assault, all while being recorded for TikTok posting.
Reports of the violent social media dare being carried out by students in places as diverse as South Carolina, Connecticut and California.
Interestingly, according to Insider, officials at TikTok say they are unaware of any of the "Slap a Teacher Challenge" or similar videos being posted on their site. And Insider reports that "TikTok says that the "challenge" may be just a rumor being spread on sister social media site, Facebook:
"Warnings of the alleged 'slap a teacher' challenge appear to have begun circulating on other social media platforms, notably Facebook, in mid-to-late September, typically as part of a list of hypothetical TikTok challenges associated with months of the upcoming year."