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It’s not uncommon for a 12-year-old kid to break their arm. 

But when Kayla Smith came home from school and told her mother that a teacher was the one at fault, her mother was, naturally, outraged.

“I want to know how in the hell did my daughter’s arm get broken,” Nicole Smith said.

11 News

Kayla Smith says a teacher broke her arm at school.

It was Wednesday of last week when Kayla says her teacher at Attucks Middle School yanked her arm back until it snapped.

“He bent two people’s arms back,” Kayla said.

HISD said the teacher, Terry Noel, was trying to restrain Kayla Smith and was using a “therapeutic hold” when the incident occurred.

Noel has been reassigned pending the outcome of an internal investigation – one that should perhaps start about a mile away at Leon Betts’ house.

“He took me and my partner out of the class, and he started punching us,” Leon said of Noel.

According to Leon, that happened about a month ago.  He told his mom, who says her blood pressure shot up.

“I went out to the school, and the school board didn’t’ do anything,” Janice Brown, Leon’s mom,  said.

No one believed what was happening – not even the emergency room doctors at Ben Taub, where Kayla had her arm placed in a sling.

“They didn’t believe me at first! They said, ‘A Teacher?’” Nicole Smith said.

Renaldo Wallace, the principal at Attucks, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon.

“Ensuring the safety of children is our most important job every day at Attucks Middle School. The teacher will remain on duties away from the school until a thorough investigation is completed. We will take appropriate action at the end of that investigation,” the statement read.

An investigation 11 News has learned will also include CPS officials.