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Teen sues high school after science teacher brought swords to class and instructed students to fight
A New Mexico school, its vice principal, and a teacher there are the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the teacher brought real swords into her science classroom and instructed students to fight with them, causing one student to become badly injured.
The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of the student, identified only as N.S., by her grandparents and permanent guardians, Arnold and Judy Gachupin. According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 23, N.S. was a 16-year-old sophomore at Albuquerque Public Schools’ Volcano Vista High School at the time.
The incident began when the teacher, identified in the lawsuit as Loviata Mitchell, brought two swords into the school on May 2, 2022. She allegedly hid them from students, security staff and other school personnel, until the class that N.S. was in. At that point, Mitchell allegedly announced that she had “surprise” for her students, according to the lawsuit, and revealed the two swords. One was a katana-style sword with a “long, curved blade and sharp edge,” according to the lawsuit, and the second was a rapier-style sword. Mitchell, according to the lawsuit, told the students the swords were props.
After bringing out the weapons, Mitchell allegedly instructed the students to rearrange their desks and create a space in the middle of the classroom for pairs of students to fight. The fights were timed with a two-minute timer displayed on the classroom’s projector, and filmed and photographed by other students, including N.S. Video footage of the fights was included in the lawsuit, and “shows Ms. Mitchell looking on approvingly.” Mitchell had no certifications or experience in sword-fighting, the lawsuit said.
Lawsuit photo
N.S. was then called to fight, but shortly after the bout began, she was struck across her right forearm, wrist and hand by the katana-style sword, causing a “large and deep laceration” that began to bleed profusely, according to the lawsuit. Mitchell allegedly stated “I’m in trouble!” after the injury occurred, and ordered students to delete video recordings of the fights and to not tell anyone about them.
Mitchell also allegedly delayed calling for help. N.S.’s grandfather was contacted about 20 minutes after the injury was sustained, and because Mitchell could not figure out how to dial the nurse’s office, it wasn’t until N.S. “began to feel nauseous and weak from blood loss” that another student left the room to get medical assistance. About 30 minutes after N.S. was cut, 911 was called and N.S. was brought to the hospital.
The lawsuit described the injury as a “gaping wound” that resulted in injuries to nerves and tendons in N.S.’s dominant hand. The nerves and tendons remain damaged, despite surgery on the area, and “cause ongoing daily pain,” according to the lawsuit, and make it difficult or impossible for N.S. to perform “many basic daily tasks” including preparing food, fastening buttons and zippers, and more. She continues to undergo occupational and physical therapy, the lawsuit said, but her dominant hand remains significantly weaker than her non-dominant hand. The teen was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the lawsuit said.
Lawsuit photo
“Because of the injury, N.S. has become withdrawn and depressed; as a result, the Plaintiffs no longer enjoy as close of a relationship with their granddaughter,” the lawsuit said. “N.S. is not the same emotionally as she was before the injury, and this has affected the Plaintiffs’ relationship with N.S., their quality of life, and their home environment.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the school attempted to cover up the incident, with the assistant principal, identified as Manuel Alzaga, filling out an official accident report that described the swords a prop brought in to teach a students a lesson “on metal and melding.” The incident report noted that N.S. had been injured, but said that the injury did not violate school rules, despite the school and state both prohibiting deadly weapons, which would include swords, from being brought onto school campuses. The lawsuit argued that this was an attempt to deflect liability away from Mitchell.
The lawsuit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees, costs and other relief. The school told CBS News that it could not comment on the allegations, citing a policy against commenting on pending litigation.
According to the lawsuit, Mitchell is no longer a teacher at Volcano Vista High School.
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
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To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
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Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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