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Student charged with assaulting high school teacher

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Public Schools student is charged with assaulting a teacher.

In March, she was a social media standout featured on the Westinghouse High School's Facebook page showing off her carpentry work.

But now, 18-year-old Pearria Blackwell is wanted for aggravated assault on a teacher.

School officials told Channel 11 the assault happened April 30 when the school resource officers and teachers tried to break up a violent fight between female students. One of those students, police said, was Blackwell's sister.

Channel 11 picked up the paperwork to find out what happened and according to school police, when they and a teacher tried to stop the fight, Blackwell lunged at the teacher and "swung at him, hitting him several times."

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Police said even after the fight was broken up, Blackwell continued to hurl threats. Police told Channel 11 Blackwell "made several threats telling the teacher she was going to have her dad (expletive) him up."

The teacher went to the hospital for treatment, but school officials will not say if he was badly hurt.

School officials have suspended Blackwell, who was about to graduate.

Blackwell has no criminal history.