Popular Chalmette High School principal injured and hospitalized after attack

CHALMETTE, Louisiana (WVUE) – The nation’s longest-serving school principal was attacked outside his Chalmette home Sunday night, his wife confirmed Monday (June 24).

Wayne Warner, principal of Chalmette High School, was on his way to his Chalmette apartment when he was attacked by a disabled man, according to a Facebook post by his wife Kitty.

The post said the man was knocking over trash cans when Warner, 79, asked him what he was doing. The post said the man then pushed Warner onto the concrete and stole his phone.

Warner’s wife wrote that her injured husband will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a broken hip and elbow and that he “will need months of rehab.”

“But he is determined to return to school in August,” Kitty Warner wrote. “Those of you who know Wayne well know that his determination will serve him well.”

The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office confirmed that an arrest had been made in the case, but did not release the suspect’s name.

Fox 8 spoke to the man and woman who called 911 after hearing Warner’s cries for help, but they did not want to be identified. They said they heard Warner calling for help about five minutes after the attack and said he was of sound mind.

Warner has been principal of Chalmette High School since 1973. He began teaching at the school in 1966.

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