A New Jersey high school teacher is going viral after being caught on video yelling at a group of teens playing in a park. During her rant, she told the teens they should “die a long, painful death” from coronavirus. The woman in the video, identified by multiple as Nicole Griggs, is a math teacher at Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, New Jersey and has been in the district for 15 years.
One of the teenagers, a freshman at Steinart, told The Trentonian that he and a group of friends were playing football Thursday at the former Homedell School. It was there that Griggs stopped to speak to them from behind a chain-link fence.
At first, Griggs seems to be looking out for the group of teens, telling them that the park is closed and they need to go home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
She asks if she needs to yell “loud enough so you can hear me over your music. Parks closed. You will get arrested if the cops come.”
When one of the teens asks if they can come over to her, her mood shifts and she says she doesn’t care if they put her online.
“Parks closed. The whole area,” Griggs says in the video. “Get it through your thick head. You are the reason we are in this situation. You are the problem, not the solution. Go ahead keep recording. Who are you going to show it to? Post me on social media. You’re the idiot doing the wrong thing. I’m just trying to save your ass and save your life. But die, OK. I hope both of you get the coronavirus. I hope you both die a long, painful death.”
This isn’t the first time there’s been headlines about adults reacting to teens violating Stay At Home orders. Last week, a teen was shot and killed by his stepfather after leaving the house despite being told not to.
One of the teens recorded the encounter and sent it to friends through Snapchat. Another posted the video to TikTok with the caption, “Y’all Mrs Griggs is losing her damn mind how tf is she a teacher #coronavirus.”
The freshman said that Griggs threated to call the cops on them, but when a cop showed up, they weren’t cited and were just told to go somewhere.
Schools superintendent Scott Rocco said in a statement late Saturday that the district is aware of the video and investigating, according to The Trentonian.
