Student ‘Prank’ Sends Teacher With Banana Allergy to the Hospital

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
July 30, 2019US News
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Student ‘Prank’ Sends Teacher With Banana Allergy to the Hospital
A Picture of Bananas. (Alicja/Pixabay)

An Ohio teacher with a severe banana allergy was sent to the hospital after three middle school students “pranked” her with bananas, according to multiple reports.

The art teacher from Starling K-8 school had a severe banana allergy, and she made sure to banana-proof her classroom and even made it a point to tell her students about it, ABC 6 reported. According to the Columbus Police video footage of the incident that happened back in November 2018, the art teacher placed a “banana free zone” sign on her door. She put another sign that read, “should anyone eat a banana, that person should wash their hands before entering the room.” A security officer told police officers, “the teacher would go into anaphylactic shock if she came into contact with bananas, whether from immediate or indirect contact.”

“All the kids know she’s deathly allergic of bananas,” the security officer said, according to the news outlet. “If it touches her, she will go into anaphylactic shock.”

On the day of the incident, three seventh-graders took bananas and smeared them against the art teacher’s door and the doorknob.

“They’re sitting out here, and they’re all eating their lunch. So one of them takes a banana and sits it on the door,” the security officer said, according to Fox 8.

In the classroom, they then threw pieces of banana at her, hitting her on the arm and leg. The childish “prank” they played on her sent her into anaphylactic shock within 15 minutes.

“She starts to change colors. They gave her one EpiPen. It wasn’t working,” a school security employee told the police officers who were at the school. According to the police’s video footage. “They gave her another EpiPen. Her throat was starting to close up.”

According to Fox 8 Cleveland, the teacher almost died. Staff at the school called the police who rushed her to the hospital where she recovered. Authorities that showed up at the school found the banana the seventh-graders threw at the teacher, according to ABC 6.

In the video footage, the security officer could be heard saying, “they’re definitely going down for expulsion.”

“This was an attempt to do her bodily harm,” the security officer said further. “That could be attempted murder.”

All three students involved with the incident were sentenced to juvenile court, according to ABC 6.

Students Exposed Girl With Pineapple Allergy to the Fruit

Three teenagers face criminal charges after intentionally exposing a school classmate with a severe pineapple allergy to the fruit, authorities said.

Police in Butler Township alleged that a 14-year-old high-fived another 14-year-old girl to expose her to the fruit during their lunch period Dec. 13 at Butler Intermediate High School. The victim was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released.

The suspect was charged in juvenile court with felony aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, and other offenses. Two other girls, ages 13 and 14, face charges including criminal conspiracy.

Chief John Hays said the girl’s allergy was well-known, and pineapple isn’t served during that period, but someone had brought it from home. While pineapple is not typically a weapon, police consulted with Butler County prosecutors, who recommended aggravated assault charges. Hays said the girls are alleged to have been aware of their classmate’s allergy.

“This was an intentional act,” Lt. Matt Pearson said. “They sat at the lunch table right next to her and talked about doing it. Some had reservations, but they went through with it.”

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