Wisconsin High School Teachers Attacked in Middle of the Night

In the evening hours of May 2005, two Wisconsin high school teachers were startled by the sound of explosions and fire in their home, while their new born baby was asleep on the second floor of their home.

The husband was in the living room reading a newspaper, when glass shattered and fire broke out in the kitchen and dinning room area following a deafening series of explosion and numerous flashes of colored light. He recalled yelling up to his wife to get their baby out of the house, as it was on fire. He then located their fire extinguisher and attempted to put the fire out. The police were called and investigated the incident.

It was discovered through unknown sources that several students from the high school where the couple taught were involved. The students were later questioned about the incident, and police were able to get confessions.

On those late evening hours, several students were having an alcohol party several blocks away from the teachers residence, then decided to have some fun. They went for a walk, taking with them some cans of beer, and a three inch fireworks mortar tube and some mortars. While standing on the sidewalk in front of the teacher's home, the students laid the mortar tube onto it's side, firing the first round which missed the house, going just over the rooftop. The second round was a direct hit on the small kitchen window, leaving behind a perfect round hole in the glass. After the mortar had entered through the kitchen window, it exploded, releasing numerous smaller projectiles throughout the kitchen, dinning room, and portions of the living room, resulting on a series of multiple explosions. The home sustained damage to the kitchen and dinning room floors, as well as the living room carpeting. The stove was stuck by the main projectile and damaged. Furniture was scorched, and needed to be replaced. There was a good amount of smoke damage to the first floor of the home.

The students involved were arrested and tried in juvenile court, and ordered to serve a 30 day jail sentence, followed by probation, and a year of expulsion from the high school. As a stipulation of the probation terms, the students were ordered to "stay out of trouble", and not drink alcohol. Any incidences would revoke their probation. However, one student was fined for "Obstructing an Officer" following a traffic crash a short time later. Another was cited for Underage Consumption of Alcoholic Beverage. A third student was killed in a car wreck following leaving an alcohol party. Yet, their probation was never revoked, and the law turned a blind eye.

Upon starting the school year, the high school principal informed the students that if they didn't feel comfortable in the classroom with the teachers they had attacked, that they were "free to leave" any time the chose. However, the teachers were not given the same "courtesy". Rather, the high school principle made it very tough for the couple in the workplace, harassing them and punishing them for their concerns over the students being allowed back in school only after one semester of expulsion. The students would give the teachers the finger while walking through the hallways at the school, using vulgar expletives while addressing them, and also went as far as reversing the situation and playing the victims. Yet, no punishment was given to the students for their actions despite numerous complaints from the teachers. In fact, they were even removed from their regular classes at times and replaced with other teachers.

Not only did the teachers have to endure harassment from the principal, but from the students and their parents as well. In the weeks following the incident, the students and their parents would slowly walk or drive by the house and stare at them in an apparent attempt to intimidate them. As of this date, the couple still have troubles with the students at school.