A teacher in Rockdale County, Georgia, was recently put on administrative leave after a video of him threatening a Black student with a “bullet” in his head went viral.  

April Carr, the mother of the unnamed student, put the video on Facebook and filed a police report, reported WSB-TV.

The actual video was posted by another person, presumably a student, in the classroom at Rockdale Career Academy. During the clip, teacher Paul Hagan can be heard threatening Carr’s son.

“Don’t smile at me, man. That’s how people like you get shot. I got a bet by the time you’re 21, somebody’s gonna put a bullet right through your head. OK? And it might be me the one who does it,” Hagan said. 

Carr said when she heard the violent language being hurled at her 17-year-old son, she was “outraged.”

“I think it’s a terroristic threat on my son’s life that I definitely don’t take lightly,” Carr told WSB. “I mean, I was outraged.”

Carr also said the assistant principal at Rockdale called her last Thursday to inform her that someone directed profanity at her son. However, she said it was only after she spoke to her son that she got the full story.

The mother said before the explosion, several students — including her son — were laughing at the teacher while he wrote something on the board. Students in high school laughing at a teacher is nothing new, albeit disrespectful; however, the students’ actions do not excuse Hagan’s language.  

According to the report, Hagan did apologize after the incident and alleged his outburst came because he was upset about Carr's son not living up to his potential in the class. However, Carr says his reasoning in the apology is not enough.

“I want [Hagan] fired. And I want him fired and I want charges pressed against him,” Carr said.

Both the police and the school are investigating the incident.