Police viewed video evidence of the assault before arresting the suspect.
A teacher has been arrested after allegedly knocking out a 12-year-old student’s tooth with his elbow and throwing a basketball at him in a fit of rage, police say.
The alleged assault took place at the Putnam Academy of Arts and Science School in Palatka, Florida — some 60 miles south of Jacksonville and 100 miles north of Orlando — sometime during the school day on Monday, according to a statement from the Palatka Police Department in the aftermath of the incident.
Officers subsequently talked with the 12-year-old boy who was able to confirm to them what his mother had said and said that “Bellamy had gotten angry at him because Bellamy believed he had intentionally struck his arm or head while they were playing,” according to authorities.
“The child told Officers Bellamy called him back out onto the court and then threw the ball at him, but he was able to duck and not get hit by it,” the statement continued. “The child said he and Bellamy then started playing and then Bellamy struck him in the face with his elbow which knocked his tooth out.”
Bellamy was then placed under arrest for child abuse and battery and booked into the Putnam County Jail and is currently being held on no bond.