Bayonne teacher named hero after using body as shield to protect teenager from gang attacks outside school

BAYONNE, N.J. (WABC) — A Bayonne teacher is being hailed as a hero after she used her body as a human shield to protect a teenager from being attacked by a group.

Kathy Gurley, 56, covered the defenseless boy outside William Shemin Public School.

Gurley’s daughter, Frankie Cielski, says she passed a group of teenagers on her way to her car moments earlier and asked the boys if they were going to fight. They ignored her.

Cielski says her mom knew something was wrong when she passed a group of teenagers.

Just a few minutes later, the group threw another teenager to the ground and punched and kicked him in the head several times.

Hurley then acted on instinct, rushing to the teenage victim to protect him.

“That woman kind of came out of nowhere, didn’t she?” said Selsky. “She’s not part of the crowd. She comes out of nowhere and you lose her. And then the next thing you see is her body on top of them. It’s very much like an angel moment.”

The police report that the victim was unconscious and was taken to the hospital.

Bayonne School District Superintendent John Nies said in part in a statement, “I can tell you that this teacher embodies what everyone who works and lives in Bayonne means.”

Cielski added that she was proud of her mom and was not surprised by her reaction.

“She was raised that way,” Cielski admitted. “I was raised to defend the underdog, and I know her response was instinct.”

Police say five teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 have been charged with aggravated assault, endangering the victim and rioting.

READ ALSO: New Jersey Man Shocked When 2-Year-Old Ambulance Bill Dumped Him Into Collection

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