KYLE, Texas – A substitute teacher in Kyle is facing charges of aggravated assault after video appears to show her assaulting a female student at a high school in Kyle on Friday.
The video allegedly shows Tiffani Lankford, 32, punching a Lehman County High School sophomore in the face before throwing her to the ground and stomping on her head, CNN reported.
Hays Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Eric Wright told KXAN, “My jaw dropped, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. To say that I was appalled is probably an understatement.”
Lankford, who is a certified teacher going through teacher training, was vetted through the FBI and department of public safety and passed all the appropriate background checks.
“She came highly recommended from another district in the state,” Wright said.
Lankford has already subbed 18 times prior to the assault, according to CNN.
The video appears to show the student swing at Lankford first, before the teacher punched the teen.
The student, who met with a neurologist, a neuropsychologist, and a trauma specialist Monday, is “currently being treated for the severe injuries she sustained from this attack,” according to the student’s attorney Paul Batrice, KXAN reported.
The attorney also said the student suffers from epilepsy.
Lankford was arrested on charges of aggravated assault after sheriff’s deputies reviewed the video Friday, according to CNN. She has been fired by the district.