A lawsuit was filed after a teacher brought in swords and held sword fights, and a student was hospitalized in New Mexico. (Image from lawsuit)
The guardians of a high school student in New Mexico who was hacked in the wrist by a samurai sword during “school-sponsored sword fighting,” requiring a trip to the emergency room, have filed a lawsuit in the case, according to a lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 23, said the “school-sponsored sword fighting” happened in a chemistry class at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque on May 2, 2022. A sophomore was taken to the ER after one of the fights and has been suffering from permanent physical and psychological injuries from the trauma, the lawsuit says.
“It was total shock,” family attorney Jessica Hernandez told FOX New Mexico affiliate KRQE. “Not only did this teacher and APS (Albuquerque Public Schools) not protect this child, but actively put her in harm’s way, actively created this danger, and put deadly weapons right into these student’s hands and exactly what could reasonably be anticipated is what happened.”
The complaint obtained by Law&Crime said the teacher brought in a “surprise” that day — two swords, a katana-style sword with a long, curved blade and a rapier-style weapon that the teacher called “props.” She instructed the students to rearrange their desks, creating a space in the middle of the classroom and encouraged her students to fight one another for two minutes each while other students shot video on their phones.
In the video, a student can be seen wielding the heavy katana sword. He appears to wield it defensively by parrying the other student’s attacks, moving backward, and retreating away while holding a lighter, longer rapier-style blade. He makes stabbing motions toward the other student as teacher Loviata Mitchell looks on.
The next match drew blood.
A lawsuit was filed after a teacher brought swords, including a samurai-style sword, and held sword fights in a classroom in New Mexico. (Image from lawsuit)
A student identified in court documents as N.S. was struck across the right forearm, wrist, and hand by a student holding a katana-style sword. The injury caused intense physical pain and heavy bleeding, court documents said.
Immediately after N.S. was cut, Mitchell said, “I’m in trouble!” The lawsuit said she ordered her students to delete their videos, refrain from posting anything about the fights online, and not tell anyone.
As N.S. bled, Mitchell tried to call the health office, “but she could not figure out how to do so” and did not immediately call 911, the lawsuit alleges.
Mitchell allowed N.S. to call her grandfather for help — about 20 minutes after N.S. was cut.
“As N.S. began to feel nauseous and weak from blood loss, another student ran to the VVHS health office for medical assistance,” court documents said.
Shortly after that, a school health assistant arrived in Mitchell’s classroom, called 911, and began providing first aid — about 30 minutes after N.S. had been cut. The student was taken to an emergency room where she was treated for “a gaping wound on her right wrist” an hour after being cut by a “real sword consistent with [a] ‘samurai sword’ style item,” Albuquerque Fire Department EMS staff dispatched to the scene noted, court documents said.
The assistant principal’s official school accident report said the teacher brought a “prop” to school for a lesson on “metal and melding (science)” and that the student accidentally cut the other student with it.”
Albuquerque Public Schools did not comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy against commenting on pending litigation, KQRE reported, adding Mitchell was hired as a special-education teacher in 2021 and was terminated in 2022.
The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost future earnings, loss of mobility, and psychological and emotional distress.
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