COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — On October 15, Larrianna Jameese Jackson was charged with felony Second Degree Battery and Cruelty to the Infirmed. Jackson, an 18-year-old student at Covington High, was arrested on October 6 for striking a teacher after school.
According to the Covington Police Department, the student physically assaulted a teacher after the dismissal bell rang. Upon the officer’s arrival, it was learned that the disabled 64-year-old schoolteacher, was viciously attacked by the teen.
Police were provided video of the attack. Officials say the video shows the teacher sitting at her desk where she appears to be talking to Larrianna Jackson.
After a moment, Jackson punches the teacher, causing the teacher to fall to the ground. As the teacher fell to the ground, Jackson continues to violently close fist punch the teacher.
Due to injuries sustained by the attack, the teacher had to seek medical attention at a local hospital.
Jackson faces up to 10 years for the crimes and will be arraigned on December 8.
Days after the attack, the Covington Police Department issued arrest warrants for two teens who reportedly videoed the attack on the teacher. CPD says the two teens — one 18-year-old Trinity Gervais and the other an unnamed juvenile — turned themselves in.
Police report the juvenile suspect was released on a custodial agreement, while Gervais was issued a misdemeanor summons. Both were charged with Unlawful Posting of Criminal Activity for Notoriety and Publicity.
Officials add they want this incident to serve as a warning to youth that even videoing illegal activities can land them criminal charges.
Officers learned that this violent attack by Jackson may have been prompted by a viral social media application known as Tik-Tok. Evidently, users on the app have deemed it to be a challenge to damage school property and attack teachers.
TikTok reached out to WGNO with the following statement, “This alleged ‘challenge’ would violate our policies and we would aggressively remove such content, but the reality is that we have not found related content on our platform, and most people appear to be learning about the offline dare from sources other than TikTok.”