Pflugerville ISD teacher arrested, accused of fracturing fingers of 5-year-old student

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Pflugerville Independent School District teacher is facing an injury to a child charge after reportedly fracturing two fingers of a 5-year-old student with autism, according to an arrest affidavit.

That court document identifies the teacher as McKinzie Merrell, 31. Booking records showed Merrell was booked into the Travis County jail and also released Wednesday morning. No attorney information is listed for Merrell at this time, but KXAN will reach out for comment once those details are available.

PfISD said the teacher had worked for the district since August 2023, and the incident, which happened on Sept. 4 at Pflugerville Elementary School, was reported to the Texas Education Agency. The TEA told KXAN it had received a report about the educator in question on Sept. 11.

“The agency’s Educator Investigations Division is currently reviewing the report to determine appropriate next steps. Because the matter remains ongoing, TEA cannot comment further,” the agency said in a statement.

The district provided KXAN with a letter that was sent to families of the school to notify them of what happened. In it, PfISD confirmed the teacher was no longer employed by the district.

We were informed by a fellow parent that there was an unfortunate incident where a student was injured during the school day, allegedly by a teacher. As soon as we were informed of this, we contacted our PfISD police and administration, and the teacher was immediately placed on leave while we conducted a thorough investigation. I want to reassure you that the teacher is no longer employed by the district. Campus staff has contacted all parents of students in the classroom individually.

Letter from Pflugerville Elementary Principal Genia Antoine

According to the affidavit, the investigation was carried out by Pflugerville ISD Police. Police said they met with the parents of the child and school leaders on Sept. 5, where one of the parents explained that the child said, “Mrs. Merrell broke his fingers.” The parents took him to the hospital where it was discovered two fingers were fractured, the affidavit said.

Police reviewed surveillance footage from the day of the incident and saw around 10:21 a.m. an interaction between Merrell and the child, where Merrell had her left arm around the student’s shoulders and led him “outside by his right hand,” the affidavit stated.

According to the affidavit, police saw on video that as Merrell led the child outside by his right hand, they stopped to speak. “Merrell looks to be upset,” the affidavit stated. “Merrell releases the [child] and he solemnly walks along the fence.” Police said Merrell then went to a bench to speak with another teacher.

Police stated in the affidavit two teachers on the bench were interviewed about what happened, and they said Merrell “told them the [student] hit her and kicked her in the shins and she scolded the [student] for doing so.” Police noted in the affidavit this was not seen on surveillance video.

Police said they also asked one of the teachers if the student could’ve hurt himself playing outside, but the teacher said no, they had just come outside, and the student wouldn’t go play, “which was unusual for him,” according to the affidavit.

Police said in the affidavit that Merrell was also interviewed by Human Resources, and authorities spoke with other leaders in the school about the child’s behavior. According to the affidavit, staff told police that physical aggression by the student was not reported.

This is a developing story; stick with KXAN for updates.

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