Shocking video circulating on social media shows a parent strangling a North Carolina high school student until the child suffered a seizure.
Authorities later arrested and identified that parent as 43-year-old Quinton Lofton.
Lofton is accused of entering Fike High School in Wilson, North Carolina, on Dec. 16 and attacking a 17-year-old boy in the hallway.
Cellphone video of the assault shows Lofton grabbing the teen’s neck with both hands and then forcefully shoving his body against a staircase. At that point, the student immediately begins convulsing for several seconds as other students surround him to try to help him up.
The footage shows the teen recover, slowly get up, and then attempt to walk away, but Lofton blocks him.
A school administrator intervenes and tells Lofton to “back up,” but Lofton continues following the boy down the hallway. The administrator also follows Lofton and blocks his path to the teen, allowing the student to walk away from the situation.
Fike High Principal Ross Renfrow sent a statement to the school community about what led to the attack.
He reported that Lofton entered the school and was initially directed by administrators to report to the front office. However, he continued to walk through the school where he assaulted the child in a hallway.
A #NorthCarolina man, Quinton Earl Lofton, has been charged following a shocking incident at Fike High School in #Wilson, where he allegedly entered the premises, grabbed a student by the neck, and choked them, causing the student to suffer a seizure. pic.twitter.com/snfe7rP04S
— The North Carolina Beat (@TheNCBeat) December 16, 2024
Renfrow said he and other staff members “responded immediately, defused the situation, and escorted the parent out of the building.”
The principal revealed that the incident was connected to an isolated “situation that happened outside of school,” but neither he nor authorities have revealed what Lofton’s exact motive for the attack was.
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office charged Lofton with felony assault by strangulation and disorderly conduct. School officials have also banned him from the Fike High campus.
The teen’s family says the student was “traumatized” after the incident and called the video “disturbing” and “disgusting.”
“He’s pretty traumatized right now. He’s very shaken up by the whole event that took place this morning, “ the teen’s sister Shaniqua told WRAL. “He’s pushing through. He’s trying to, you know, remain positive through the whole situation.”
Lofton was jailed at the Wilson County Detention Center under a $7,500 bond and bonded out within a couple of hours of his arrest.
According to The Wilson Times, Lofton also faces unrelated felony charges for sex crimes connected to children.
He faces four counts of felony child abuse-sexual act and two counts each of felony taking indecent liberties with a child, committing a statutory sex offense with a child, and sexual activity by a substitute parent in cases that date back to 2020.
Police filed those charges against Lofton back in April.
Hundreds of people commented on the story when video of the incident began going viral and after Lofton was charged.
“His charges that he already had pending is insane,” one person commented.
“This video was so disturbing to watch. Regardless the fact still remains this is a child!!! His charges….good God why was he even allowed to get near a school in the 1st place???” another person added.
This happened at Fike High School in Wilson NC pic.twitter.com/oQ7VyBc5PC
— Swift_Voices (@TyrellBail65480) December 17, 2024
Others indicated the father may have arrived at the school in relation to an incident with his daughter.
“Why did she call her father? What was occurring? Whenever you call your family you have to be sure it’s worth them going to jail,” wrote one user.
