An assistant principal in North Carolina who pulled a student to the ground has resigned but vowed to face off against the school district. “I am not afraid of people hearing the entire story of what recently transpired in the classroom at Knox,” Christopher McNeil, a former assistant principal at Knox Middle School in Salisbury, said in a statement. McNeil resigned on Oct. 12 after a social media video showed him confronting a student who was cracking his knuckles. McNeil then hurled profane remarks at the child, telling him that if he continued, “I will beat the s--- out of you ... I’m going to wait for you to get up, and when you hit me, I’m going to lose my job, and they’re going to call the police.” McNeil then pulled the child to the ground, repeatedly calling him “crazy,” and had the child taken out of the classroom.

In a statement about McNeil’s departure, the Rowan-Salisbury School System said: “The safety of all students and staff are the highest priority of Rowan-Salisbury Schools.”