Teacher assaulted near Camden school

CAMDEN – An eighth-grade teacher was assaulted outside the Mary E. Taylor Middle School on Wednesday evening, police said.

Police Chief Phil Roberts said the teacher – whom he would not identify – was apparently readying to leave her classroom about 6:30 p.m. but was unable to close a window. She went outside the building to push the window closed when she was assaulted.

A male struck the teacher at least twice, Roberts said, then fled. The teacher did not know the assailant, the chief said.

“I don’t have any indication that it was of a sexual nature,” Roberts added.

Roberts would not say whether the assailant was believed to be a former student.

After the assailant fled, the teacher returned to the school. The teacher did not suffer serious injuries, Roberts said. The attack occurred in a back parking lot at the Washington Street end of the school complex, the chief said.

Late Thursday, police had developed a composite image of the assailant, which was being circulated and posted.

Two officers were investigating the attack, Roberts said.

SAD 28 Superintendent Frank Hackett said in a statement Thursday that the attack on the teacher “appears to have been random in that she did not know the attacker, and it was only by chance that she left the building.”

The district is taking security measures in response to the incident, including:

.Closing areas behind the school – parking lots, playground and playing fields – from dusk to dawn.

. Requesting increased police presence.

. Opening the rear gates so that officers can patrol behind the building.

. Notifying area residents and organizations to report any unusual or suspicious person.

Roberts said police want to speak to anyone who may have been in the area of the school between 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday.