Christopher McNeil of Salisbury, North Carolina, has quit his position as Knox Middle School deputy principal after being caught on video threatening and assaulting a student.
In a video posted on Facebook and shared by Charlotte-area station, WBTV, McNeil was seen cursing at a student and asking him if he understood the consequences of his actions before laying his hands on the pre-teen.
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”You keep cracking your knuckles,” he said. “You do what you do because when you hit me, I’m going to beat the —- out of you, I’m telling you now. I’m telling you what I’m going to do. I’m going to put my hands on you.”
In the video, McNeil continues to threaten the student: “I’m going to get up … listen, man… I will beat the s**t out of you … I’m going to wait for you to get up, and when you hit me, I’m going to lose my job, and they’re going to call the police.”
According to The News & Observer, McNeil said that his job would be reinstated once he tells his side of the story.
“I am sad for the students and teachers at Knox Middle School who I have dedicated my life to supporting and helping,” reads the statement. “I pray for their safety and success every day. Many of those students have had a tough hand dealt them, and I have spent my career trying to provide love and support for students that are wrestling with many challenges they bring with them to school every day.”
He additionally said that he is “not afraid of people hearing the entire story of what recently transpired in the classroom at Knox,” The Daily Beast reported.
McNeil has been a teacher at Knox since 2016 and has been part of the Rowan-Salisbury School System since 2005.
The school district has yet to say if any further disciplinary action will be taken against McNeil. Their only statement has been that the “safety of all students and staff are the highest priority of Rowan-Salisbury Schools.”
