(JTA) — A South Carolina teacher arrested on charges of assault and battery for a Holocaust lesson that went awry may have been under the influence of a medication at the time.
Patricia Mulholland, a veteran seventh-grade social studies teacher at Bluffton Middle School, reportedly told police that she may have accidentally taken some of her husband’s medication on the day of the incident, according to a report released Wednesday by the Bluffton Police Department.
She also was taking medication and mixed up the two, the Hilton Head Island Packet reported.
Mulholland was arrested Monday morning after being accused of dragging a student from his seat by his collar and pushing him under a table while shouting "this is what the Nazis do to Jews." She was later released from the Beaufort County Detention Center. The incident occurred last week.
Police have copies of cell-phone videos made by some students of the teacher acting strangely before the alleged assault, according to the Savannah Morning News
Mulholland, who has been teaching in the district for 23 years, was placed on administrative leave with pay on April 26. The school district has launched an internal review.
It has not been reported whether or not the student is Jewish.
