CBS2 Exclusive: Queens Girl Refuses To Return To School After Brutal Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An attack at a Queens high school left a student severely bruised, and the girl was so scared that she refused even to set foot in the building afterward.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported exclusively Thursday, Melanie Teejue, 16, was walking with a limp after she said she was attacked at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens. Her attacker has been suspended, but remains enrolled at the school.
The honor student and her family claimed teachers and a school dean knew she was in danger, but did nothing to protect her.
"All the dean said is she was going to take care of it. She asked for the names of the girls," Teejue said. "I told her."
Teejue said the dean told her, and her 26-year-old sister, that NYPD school safety officers would be notified about the threats. Nevertheless, last Thursday, Teejue said a girl jumped her inside a classroom while students watched.
A teacher called for help.
"The girl approached me and she said, 'I wanted to fight you,' and then she hit me," Teejue said. "She was pulling my hair. She kicked me. She hit me to the point where I sprained my knee."
Teejue said her face was bruised and her lip busted open.
Teejue's sister, who asked that CBS2 not show her face because she fears retaliation, said school safety officers told her the dean did not tell them about the threats against Melanie.
"I am just angry. The teachers knew about it before and nobody did anything," Teejue's sister said. "Like, are you waiting for someone to die in order to do something?"
CBS2 contacted the New York City Department of Education, which said it is investigating. CBS2 also asked Hillcrest High School principal David Morrison to explain what happened.
"I have no comment because I don't know anything about it," he said.
But Teejue said: "If anyone comes up to the dean and says they don't feel safe, school safety is supposed to know about it. And that's my thing -- that they didn't know, and they couldn't get a chance to protect me."
Teejue will finish off the school year from home, and she will transfer to a new high school this fall.
