'I jacked him up'

Father says principal assaulted his son

The principal of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg middle school is suspended with pay following allegations that he assaulted a student.

Russ Hosey says his son, Nathan, a student at McClintock Middle School, witnessed a fight Friday and was sent to go with Principal Andrew Thiel to tell him what happened. And as Thiel was addressing another class, Nathan saw friends in the classroom and began waving. That’s when he says it got ugly.

"He told the class to wait just one moment and simultaneously turned around and punched my child in the chest with his fist, sending my son stumbling backwards across the hallway," Hosey said.

Hosey says there were witnesses in the hallway and his son was gasping for breath. He says only after addressing another class did Thiel escort Nathan to the nurse's office.