PITTSBURGH — A local mom says her son went unresponsive at school after his classmates smothered him with pillows.
Shanese Nelson’s son is a third grader at Urban Academy in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood.
She said the situation started with a call from the school nurse.
“At first, I thought it was a regular call, like kids being sick. I’m like, ‘OK,’ jokingly, ‘Which one is it? Who’s trying to come home from school?’” Nelson said.
Her response quickly turned into panic.
“She was like, ‘I was calling to give you an update that Arian was found unresponsive, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, what do you mean unresponsive?’” Nelson said.
Nelson says she was told students inside a third-grade classroom at Urban Academy covered her son in pillows and then sat on him.
Nelson says her son lost consciousness, but an ambulance was never called.
“I said, ‘Did y’all call the ambulance?’ They did not call the ambulance. They did not call for help for my son,” Nelson said.
She is also questioning why her son’s teacher didn’t stop this from happening.
“Where was you at that a kid could sit on my son for that long and he’s unresponsive?”
The school’s chief executive officer would only say that an “incident” occurred involving three students.
A statement reads:
“Any situation where a child is hurt is deeply concerning, and we approach it with the care, urgency, and responsibility that every family deserves. I am leading this investigation personally.”
Nelson says her son did go to UPMC Children’s Hospital. He’s sore, but OK. Now, she wants answers and accountability.
“It’s very scary. I don’t want this to happen to nobody else’s kid,” Nelson said.
The school says it’s unable to release any additional information at this time, but we are told the teacher involved has been placed on paid administrative leave.
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