Barstow Mother Apologizes for Assaulting Special Education Teacher Who Allegedly Injured Her Son

BARSTOW – The Barstow mother who physically assaulted a teacher who she claims caused injury to her son is apologizing for her actions Thursday night.

Alicia Garcia, 29, of Barstow, said that she was extremely frustrated due to the school’s lack of attention to her concerns about her young son. Other parents of Cameron Elementary School parents have come forward in support of Garcia expressing that they also had concerns about possible abuse of their children with special needs. “These people are mean and nasty at that school, I was hurting all day while he was there,” said Garcia on a public Facebook post. “His behavior got worse there. I walk in to find his screaming and crying all the time. A teacher was yelling and yelling at him and no one defended him.”

Heather Snyder, Special Education teacher from the Tonganoxie Unified School District in Kansas claims that she has knowledge of the incident. “The student was hitting and punching another student,” stated Snyder on a 24/7 Headline News comment. “The teacher went to restrain him (which teachers are trained to do!) and he tried to headbutt her! She went to get her walker talkie out of her pocket to call for help and he hit her walk-in talkie. The teacher did nothing wrong in this instance.” It is unclear how Snyder is familiar with the Cameron Elementary School incident at this time, a 24/7 Headline News reporter has reached out to her for clarification. Garcia said that the school never informed her that her son had become physically aggressive.

Although she was apologetic for her actions, Garcia clearly expressed her intention to find legal representation. Garcia plans to fight the school, not only for her children, but for other children who are unable to defend themselves. Garcia expressed that in addition to the school issues, she is also still dealing with the recent death of her husband. “I just let my emotions get the best of me and I haven’t fixed my own issues with my husband’s death.”

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Garcia was released from custody on Thursday night with no court appearance scheduled at this time. The Barstow Police Department will continue to investigate the abuse allegations. Meanwhile, the teacher is recovering from moderate injuries to her head, nose, and lower body. It is unclear when she will return to her position as a special needs teacher.