Charges refiled against Pittsburgh Public Schools student accused of attacking staff members

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The district attorney's office refiled charges against a Pittsburgh Public Schools student accused of attacking staff members at an Oliver Citywide Academy satellite campus.

According to the criminal complaint for 18-year-old Qvawn Rembert-Leonard, he attacked a teacher at Oliver Citywide Academy's satellite site at Greenway. He was allegedly talking on the phone about fentanyl and coke. When the teacher took the phone off him, he allegedly threw them across the room. Witnesses said he punched another educator, got them to the ground and choked them.

"When it does begin to unfold, there needs to be the resources and systems in place so that it can be quelled quickly," Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers president Billy Hileman said.

Hileman said the student will no longer be in Pittsburgh Public. Rembert-Leonard was charged earlier this year, but those charges were dropped after school police allegedly never showed for his hearing. The DA refiled the charges this week. Hileman hopes the student gets the help he needs. The union has had no contact with the DA's office.

"Sometimes the response is not necessarily incarceration even if the incident was pretty serious," Hileman said.

To avoid this type of situation moving forward, Hileman says there needs to be a better utilization of resources and plans in place. With the mental health needs of students, he would like to see that be taken care of sooner. It could steer a child in the right direction to avoid going down a path like this.

"If we do build the systems then we should be able to meet the needs of young people and get them on a path to productive lives, which is our goal," Hileman said.

At this point, Rembert-Leonard is facing four counts of aggravated assault. He is still awaiting a preliminary hearing. KDKA-TV has reached out to Pittsburgh Public and the DA's office about this case but didn't hear back.