Elderly Paraprofessional Arrested for Shoving Student at Brooklyn School
BROOKLYN, NY – A 75-year-old paraprofessional has been arrested after allegedly pushing a 14-year-old student inside a Brooklyn public school on Monday.
The incident took place at PS 373, also known as the Brooklyn Transition Center, located on Ellery Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to law enforcement sources.
Luis Benalcazar is accused of pushing the teen, who had reportedly become “disorderly” while walking up the staircase.
The altercation led to the student being shoved into a railing, resulting in a minor injury. The student was treated at the scene and declined further medical attention once his guardian arrived.
Benalcazar was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, police said.
Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Education, condemned the incident, stating, “This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable.
This employee has been suspended pending the outcome of the arrest, and if convicted, we will pursue their termination. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our students.”
The incident follows a series of violent events involving teenagers in the city. Just the previous week, a 14-year-old girl was stabbed in the leg at a Bronx high school, and a 16-year-old boy was robbed at knifepoint in Sheepshead Bay.
Other violent incidents included a teenager slashed in Fordham Heights and a 14-year-old repeatedly attacked with a knife by three others in East New York.