A West Los Angeles elementary school teacher was arrested on suspicion of child abuse Wednesday, school officials said.
Thelmo Garcia, a fourth-grade teacher at Rosewood Elementary School, on Croft Avenue, was arrested off campus Wednesday, according to a Los Angeles Unified School District statement released Thursday. Details about the alleged abuse were not immediately available.
Garcia had been removed from the school's campus in February, according to the district's statement, which did not say whether Garcia had been fired.
"We take these allegations very seriously. The District is fully cooperating with the LAPD investigation. Crisis intervention counselors are at the school today for any students who might be affected by the arrest," the LAUSD statement said.
Garcia, 37, is being held on $100,000 bail after he was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to LA County inmate information posted online.
The LAPD and LA County District Attorney's office did not offer details into the allegations.
Los Angeles's teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"I was surprised because I thought he was a good person," said Rianna Laschev, who had Garcia as a teacher in the fourth grade. "I was crying and I felt bad for him."
