16-year-old high school student charged with attempted murder and sexual assault of a teacher at Las Vegas high school

Police in Las Vegas, Nevada, are investigating a horrendous attack on a high school teacher that has led to a 16-year-old student being charged with attempted murder and sexual assault.

Las Vegas Metro police said they were called to the Eldorado High School at about 3:30 p.m. Friday on reports of an injured teacher.

Police said that a student approached the teacher about his grades, but he allegedly grew violent during their discussion and began punching and strangling the teacher until she lost consciousness.

They said the student fled the classroom.

The teacher was later found by the school's janitor according to KLAS-TV. Police said they apprehended the student suspect about a mile away from the school.

The student, whose identity has been withheld, was arrested and charged with sexual assault, attempted murder, first degree kidnapping, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and robbery.

The teacher was transported to University Medical Center and is in stable condition.

"I am devastated, and the CCSD family hurts for the teacher assaulted at Eldorado High School. Our hearts are heavy because of the violence committed against her, and we pray for her full recovery," said Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara in an email statement to Clark County School District staff.

Clark County Education Association President Marie Neisess said that the district had been warned about escalating violence at its schools but did not do enough to address the issues.

“If what happened yesterday does not enlighten the community as well as CCSD, I don’t know what else it’s going to take,” said Neisess. “Is it going to take someone dying at the hands of a student, whether it’s another student or a staff member? We have to have some immediate interventions to figure out what to do.”

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak called the incident an “absolutely tragic and horrendous situation" in a statement Friday.

Public schools across the country are being hit with staff shortages, and some experts believe that teachers and others are resigning partly from the increased violence and behavioral issues from students.

Here's a local news report about the attack:

Police investigate reports of assault against Eldorado High School staff memberwww.youtube.com