Surveillance footage captures the moment a man allegedly physically pursued preschool teachers while they were taking roughly 30 young children for a walk in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
The two pre-K educators from the Petit Scholars preschool in Bloomingdale said the suspect, 38-year-old Russell Dunkley III, pestered them for money but allegedly grew violent when they refused, NBC Washington reported. In the blurred clip, young children can be heard reacting to the alleged attack by crying out loud.
WATCH:
DC PRESCHOOL TEACHERS ATTACKED: This Ring video shows some of the terrifying moments yesterday when a man attacked two DC preschool teachers, as they were out walking with the toddlers. In the video, you can hear the kids screaming and crying @nbcwashington https://t.co/9wnXvBEnoN pic.twitter.com/jTQwqFlnGb
— Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) October 24, 2023
Petit Scholars Bloomingdale teacher Jaqueline Reis tells @fox5dc she keeps crying over what happened. A home security cam captured the frantic screams. @DCPoliceDept arrested 38yo Russell Dunkley III.@CMZParker5 shared this update: https://t.co/9xfjYZwJXW https://t.co/DROOxe6wmX pic.twitter.com/EUpd06ARKp
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) October 24, 2023
One unnamed teacher who was transferred to a local hospital said she was left with a broken nose after Dunkley’s alleged outburst, according to the outlet. (RELATED: DC Council Chairman: ‘You Can Get Away With Murder In This City’)
“He punched me like three times on the left side of my face,” she said. “That’s when I kind of lost conscious, and I wasn’t sure what to do or what was going on, because I was just worried about the kids’ safety.”
She added she no longer feels safe at her workplace. (RELATED: Three Men Allegedly Steal The Shoes Off Teens At Washington DC Middle School)
Dunkley “began touching himself” moments after the episode, D.C. police told NBC Washington.
The incident shook up the both Petit Scholars staffers as well as the toddler pupils, Petit Scholars owner LaShada Ham-Campbell told the outlet.
The students reportedly expressed concerns the “bad man” would make a comeback, Ham-Campbell continued.
“We love our babies, our infants and our toddlers, and literally, the teachers will put theirselves on the line to protect them,” Ham-Campbell said. “I just don’t want us to be in the position where we have to.”
Dunkley is now facing charges of assault, lewd acts and sexual abuse of a child. He later spit on and struck a police officer while receiving treatment in hospital, NBC Washington reported, citing the police report.