Hub student threw ‘boiling’ water in teacher’s face
Principal then wouldn’t call 911, reports say
A Boston Public Schools teacher had to take herself to the doctor and then the police station after a student threw “boiling hot” ramen-noodle water on her face — and the school’s principal wouldn’t call 911, according to a police report.
A 14-year-old boy has been sent a summons, being charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault, according to a police report obtained by the Herald from the May 5 incident at the McKinley Middle School.
It started when the boy was trying to heat up instant ramen noodles in the microwave, and tried to put a textbook in with them, according to police. The teacher told him not to do that, and went over to take the book away — but the kid snatched it back.
The teen “then stood up from his seat and threw his cup of boiling hot ramen noodles at the Victim’s face,” Boston Police wrote.
The teacher later told police that the noodles and water hit the left side of her face, leaving her “in excruciating pain,” with her face, ear and left eye “stinging.”
The teacher went to the school nurse, who treated her and told her to seek further medical attention, so she went to a local urgentcare clinic, and later told police she would be going to her doctor to further evaluate the burns.
After going to the urgent care, she went to the local police station to report the incident.
“It should be noted that the Victim notified the school’s principal about the incident, the principal stated that they would call 911 but did not do so,” the police wrote of the leadership of the school on St. Mary’s Street in Allston.
The school’s website lists the principal as Cindie Neilson, who wasn’t immediately reachable for comment.
Asked for comment, BPS said this “is an unfortunate incident that took place at the McKinley, and actions were taken to ensure the safety of the staff member involved and appropriate interventions have occurred.”
“Both Boston Police and the BPS Safety Services have a report of the incident, and it is being reviewed by the appropriate BPS staff,” the district continued. “Our protocol when such incidents occur is to put in place a safety plan for everyone involved, which is currently underway.”
A teacher at the school told the Herald that the incident and the response to it “really made staff upset and worried” after the principal didn’t call for an ambulance.
City Councilor Michael Flaherty, the council’s public safety chair, said the school’s response is “indefensible.”
“I am inflamed that the principal did not call 911 after an incident of this caliber,” he told the Herald. “I demand an independent investigation as to what happened and why school leadership did not call 911 given the violent nature of the incident and the resulting injuries to one of our teachers.”
High-profile incidents at the schools have made the headlines as students returned this year, following tumultuous years disrupted by the pandemic and now with a renewed push to keep police out of schools.
Flaherty and City Council President Ed Flynn exchanged jabs with the district a couple of weeks ago after back-to-back days of incidents at the Condon school in South Boston when a flyer with a swastika turned up one day and then a bullet appeared in a toilet the next.
Last year, a student in Dorchester was accused of beating a principal unconscious. Different days have brought reports of bullets around schools, fights and threats.
Earlier Thursday, the Boston Globe reported on an incident in which a family said BPS didn’t call 911 when a child was having a stroke — and instead called social services on the boy’s mother after she pressed them.