Teacher Punched, Threatened By Colleague's Husband At North Jersey School: PD

PATERSON, NJ — A Paterson elementary school teacher said that another teacher's husband punched him in the face and threatened him with a knife in his classroom last week, police confirmed.

Officers responded to School 18 on Thursday at around 4:45 p.m., after someone had reported a suspicious person with a weapon. They met with a teacher, who said the other man "entered his classroom and punched him in the face before pulling out a knife and threatened his life with it," according to Paterson Police.

At that point, other faculty members came into the room and escorted the other teacher's husband from the property.

No students were present at the time, as the incident took place about 90 minutes after they had been dismissed from the building on 18th Street, according to a spokesperson for Paterson Public Schools.

The district said that the husband checked in with security staff at the school's entrance before confronting the teacher. Like many other elementary schools in the district, School 18 does not have metal detectors in its doors, the spokesperson said.

As of late Monday morning, Paterson Police said no charges have been filed. Officials did not share the names of either man involved.

Paterson Public Schools superintendent Dr. Laurie Newell said district staff are "deeply concerned" about the incident.

"The safety of our staff and students remains our top priority," Newell said in a statement. "We will continue to provide necessary support to those affected and appreciate the community's understanding during this time."

Dalton Price, the district's head of security, said school officials "will remind our security personnel of the importance of following established protocols to ensure the safety of our students and staff," but did not elaborate.

"This is deeply concerning and could have had more serious consequences," he said. "Such occurrences should never happen in our schools."