Oct. 16: Albuquerque Public Schools agreed to pay more than $3 million after a student was injured in a sword fighting incident at Volcano Vista High School in 2022.
The incident, which attracted national attention, occurred in a chemistry class after a teacher made students fight with swords.
Under the agreement, the district and the plaintiffs reached a settlement in June. APS agreed to pay $2.5 million directly to the plaintiffs and another $1 million to Pacific Life and Annuity Services.
El Diario obtained the agreement through a request from the Public Records Inspection Law.
“We are shocked by this incident and grateful to have resolved the case,” district spokesman MartÃn Salazar wrote in a statement. “The teacher named in the lawsuit has not worked for APS in more than three years.”
The plaintiffs in the case, Arnold and Judy Gachupin, the injured student’s grandparents, filed the lawsuit in February 2024 and alleged that the teacher and APS (defendants in the case) violated the sophomore student’s constitutional rights, according to a previous Journal report.
As part of the agreement, former chemistry teacher Loviata Mitchell, who carried the swords to class, is also prohibited from seeking a permanent teaching job. The district fired her in July 2022, two months after the incident occurred.
The lawsuit did not list the injured student’s name, instead listing him as NS, identifying him as a 16-year-old sophomore, but the settlement lists Nevaeh Salas as the beneficiary.
The lawsuit also alleges that after the sword struck the student, Mitchell failed to call 911 in a timely manner and attempted to call the school health office. When a health aide arrived at the classroom, they treated the injured student before calling 911.
Injuries suffered by the student include large cuts, as shown in the lawsuit, to the student’s hand and wrist area. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff still suffers from physical and mental scars, according to a previous Journal report.
As for how APS paid the settlement, Salazar said, “Although we are self-insured, we are overinsured for these types of situations. We worked with our insurer to resolve this claim.”