In Less Than a Year, 2 Providence High School Principals Have Been Sent to the Hospital

In Less Than a Year, 2 Providence High School Principals Have Been Sent to the Hospital

It took the Providence Public School Department (PPSD) more than 24 hours to admit that two members of the faculty were injured on Wednesday in an altercation with a student at Mount Pleasant High School.

Repeatedly, school officials refused to respond to questions. The Providence schools are run by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) after a state takeover was implemented in 2019.

One of the two faculty members injured in the Mount Pleasant violence was principal Wobberson Torchon, GoLocal has confirmed.

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He was taken to the hospital after the incident that led to the arrest of a Mount Pleasant student.

According to multiple police and school sources, the student reached for the School Resource Officer's gun during the incident. The police officer is Mica Waters.

 

Principal at Central Stabbed Last December

This is the second time in less than a year in which a Providence high school principal had to be taken to the hospital after a violent episode in their respective school.

Last December, GoLocal published a video of the principal at Central High School trying to subdue a student with a knife and he was stabbed. He too was taken to the hospital.

In that instance, it was Principal Robert DiMuccio who was stabbed.

The video depicted a juvenile first being assaulted by other students, before getting up from the ground -- and removing a knife from his pocket. 

"He's got a knife!" someone shouted, as the juvenile went running through the halls before being confronted by DiMuccio.

A struggle then ensued between DiMuccio and the student; it was unclear if the stabbing occurred before or after the video was taken.

That student was taken into custody after the stabbing. 

Finally, after repeated requests for comments on the Mount Pleasant violence, PPSD released the below statement:

First and foremost, the safety of our students and staff are our top priority – and we want to thank the staff and school community for their prompt response to what occurred yesterday at Mount Pleasant High School. An incident occurred yesterday at Mount Pleasant High School.

Around noon, there was an altercation between two students in a classroom. The altercation was broken up and the two students were separated. Once separated, one of the students was non-compliant requiring involvement from administration and Providence Police Department. Two staff members were injured and were transported for treatment to a local hospital by ambulance. They were released and are recuperating.

PPSD issued the below message to Mount Pleasant families after the incident but failed to notify the families about the injuries to the principal and the other faculty member.