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- Police say an Idaho middle school substitute teacher encouraged students to fight and filmed it.
- They allege the teacher set a timer for students to fight and then shared videos of it to social media.
- Ettson Arreola was arrested on Friday and charged with four counts of injury to a child, among other things.
A middle school substitute teacher in Idaho is accused of encouraging students to fight during class and filming it.
Police said in a Facebook statement that Ettson Arreola, who was teaching at Syringa Middle School, set a timer and encouraged students to fight for ten seconds while he recorded videos.
Two physical fights took place in his classroom on Thursday, police said, one between two male students and another between two female students.
Arreola was arrested on Friday after police discovered he had recorded videos of students fighting and shared them on social media, according to the Caldwell Police Department.
He has been charged with four counts of injury to a child, one count of inciting a riot, and four counts of violation of the juvenile corrections act, encouraging a minor to fight.
Rex Ingram, the Caldwell Chief of Police, said that the teacher's actions "tear at the fabric of our community and are reprehensible."
"The video(s) is appalling, disturbing, and unimaginable. This man was entrusted by his community to keep our children safe and provide academic education, but he chose to facilitate a fight club in his classroom," he said.
The Superintendent of the Caldwell School District, Dr. French, said: "The Caldwell School District has zero tolerance for this type of behavior. The personal safety and welfare of each child is of paramount concern. The District has taken immediate steps to ensure the safety of all students. We are providing support for the students involved and are actively cooperating with law enforcement."