Parent says cellphone sparked teacher tirade

LAKE WEIR, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Parents said they are concerned after a teacher is accused of flipping desks in a fit of rage. That teacher is under investigation by the School District.

"I'm very shocked. It's just appalling, really,” said Parent, Chris Morgan.  Morgan said he was disturbed over what allegedly happened in his son’s ninth grade math class on Monday afternoon at Lake Weir High School.

In a picture Morgan provided to FOX 35, you can see desks and chairs overturned, and papers strewn about the classroom.  "One of the desks flew off and hit one of my nephews -- not anything that would injure him, but enough to scare him,” Morgan said.. “My son's desk was taken from him and thrown. Papers, pencils, flying left to right."

Morgan said his son told him the teacher did it.  “He said teacher freaked out and started throwing desks, because a phone went off,” Morgan explained.  He is upset this could happen.  "Fear, anger. As a parent, you don't want your child to have to be susceptible to these types of things. Especially when you send them to school and you think they're safe,” Morgan explained.

Marion County School District spokesman Kevin Christian sent FOX 35 a statement, which read,  '"We are investigating a teacher for inappropriate behavior in the classroom yesterday at Lake Weir high school. That teacher has been removed from the classroom, escorted off campus, and will not be back in the classroom until the investigation is over. As standard procedure, he is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of our investigation."

Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lauren Lettelier said they investigated the alleged incident and said, “There was no crime committed at this point in time. It is a school issue.”

About the incident, Morgan said, “I'm disappointed in the Lake Weir administration for not expressing this to the parents, or letting anybody know their children were in danger."

FOX 35 reached out to the teacher under investigation, but we had not received a response at the time this story was published.