This browser does not support the Video element.
Petition calls for South Bay coughing suspect’s firing from school district
The mother of the baby who was coughed on in San Jose wants the school district the suspect apparently works for to take action. Meanwhile a petition for the suspect's firing is circulating. The suspect has retained an attorney.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - It's a now viral video showing a woman pulling off her mask to cough in the face of a 1-year-old boy at a San Jose yogurt shop.
The child's mother has said it was because the woman thought she wasn't following social distancing protocols. Now it's now come to light that the woman involved may be a school teacher.
The Oak Grove School District released a statement saying they don't tolerate conduct from any employee that compromises a child's safety. The victim in this case says she'd like them to take action.
Mireya Mora was horrified by what happened, but even more upset when she found out who was allegedly responsible: a school teacher.
The woman, apparently angry that she was standing too close in a San Jose Yogurtland, intentionally coughed on her baby in his stroller.
"Within seconds it happens so fast that she takes two to three steps, really fast as she is taking off her mask, she bends down, and she coughs three times in my son's face, three times, super hard," says Mora.
The woman is allegedly a school teacher in the Oak Grove District.
"There's more to this story versus yeah she coughed on the baby you know, while she's a school teacher. The school needs to take action!" says Mora.
A Change.org petition is calling for the teacher's firing.
The school district released a statement saying, "Please be assured that we hear you, we share your sense of outrage, we will take appropriate steps once the identity of the individual in question is confirmed."
Though the woman's identity has been made public in some social media posts, we are not identifying her because she has not been charged with a crime.
Her husband released a statement to KTVU saying in part, "My wife has been subjected to false news reporting." He also said the family has retained a lawyer.
"There is video proof that she coughed in my son's face. How is that false?" says Mora.
Mora, says her son is traumatized by what happened. And so is she. She's hopeful the school district will take action.
"They're saying their priority is the children, but they're not showing that it is," she says.
San Jose Police say they are investigating this case, but no arrests have been made yet. The school district says their employee is currently off work and not providing services to students.