Student, 16, who killed classmate with a single punch is cleared of criminal charges after school surveillance footage shows the other teen victim picked the fight

  • Gregary Teer punched Dakota Escritt, 17, inside Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Nebraska on September 25
  • Escritt fell to the ground and suffered a blunt force trauma to the head and died in hospital three days later
  • But surveillance video shows that Escritt had repeatedly pushed Teer who continued to walk away until he punched back
  • County attorney deemed Teer used reasonable force to defend himself
  • The boys had exchanged angry messages on Facebook days before after Teer collided with one of Escritt's friends during a ballgame 

A 16-year-old student who killed a classmate with a single punch during a school scrap has been cleared of criminal charges after surveillance footage showed the other teen picked the fight.

Gregary Teer used justified force to defend himself when he punched 17-year-old Dakota Escritt at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Nebraska on September 25, Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber concluded.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows Escritt repeatedly pushing Teer in the school hallways after the boys reportedly exchanged words on social media the night before.

Teer can be seen walking away from Escritt each time until he finally has enough and shoves back. Both boys raise their fists, but Teer hits first and the other boy falls to the ground.

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Fight: Gregary Teer, 16, (in the blue shorts) can be seen hitting Dakota Escritt, 17, who suffered a fatal injury when he smacked his head on the floor. Teer was justified in the force he used, investigators said

Fight: Gregary Teer, 16, (in the blue shorts) can be seen hitting Dakota Escritt, 17, who suffered a fatal injury when he smacked his head on the floor. Teer was justified in the force he used, investigators said

Down: Escritt was conscious for moments after he fell and can be seen on surveillance footage lifting his hand up in the air as Teer walks away. He was rushed to hospital but died three days later

Down: Escritt was conscious for moments after he fell and can be seen on surveillance footage lifting his hand up in the air as Teer walks away. He was rushed to hospital but died three days later

Escritt smacks his head on the tile floor and lifts up one arm to the ceiling before falling back down.

He was taken unconscious to a hospital, where he died three days later. An autopsy showed that his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

'There is no question in my mind that Escritt was the initial physical aggressor in this incident,' Wilber said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

'In Iowa you are entitled to use reasonable force to defend yourself. This is not a case of deadly force being used', WOWT reported.

No charges: Teer, pictured Wednesday, said he had no intention of killing his classmate. The county attorney agreed, saying Teer had been entitled to use force to defend himself after Escritt picked a fight with him

No charges: Teer, pictured Wednesday, said he had no intention of killing his classmate. The county attorney agreed, saying Teer had been entitled to use force to defend himself after Escritt picked a fight with him

Dakota Escritt
Dakota Escritt

Killed: Escritt, pictured left and right, could be seen repeatedly pushing Teer before the deadly punch

He added that while Teer intended to throw the punch, he didn't intend for anyone to die. 

Teer, who spoke at his attorney's office on Wednesday, said he never meant to kill his classmate.

'I'm very sorry for what has happened,' he told reporters. 'I feel horrible. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I don't think anybody did.' 

Teer is still suspended from school, which says he violated the school's code of conduct by engaging in a fight.

It is not yet known which action the school will take - he could be expelled, moved to another school or be allowed to return to class - but his attorney argues he should be let back to the school.

'He's not a criminal,' Chad Primmer said. 'He responded legally.'

Gregary Teer
Gregary Teer

Spat: Teer, pictured left and right, had exchanged words with Escritt on social media before the attack. The fight began when Teer collided with one of Escritt's friends during a ballgame the previous week

At the press conference, Wilber said that school records show that both boys had disrupted classes and been in fights, but never with each other before September 25.

Escritt, who spent some of his younger years at a home for boys before being adopted by his paternal grandmother and step-grandfather, had exchanged words with Teer online before his death.

A week before, Teer had collided with one of Escritt's friends, who had his arm in a cast, during a ballgame and the two boys argued, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

That night, Escritt sent Teer a message on Facebook telling him to leave his friends alone, and Teer responded with a similarly foul-mouthed message, telling the teenager to mind his own business.

Days later, Escritt was seen following Teer at school before pushing him, ultimately leading to the fatal shove.

Remembered: Tributes can be seen for Dakota, who had spent some years in a boy's home before he was adopted by his grandmother. Friends wore black to school while he was fighting for his life in hospital

Remembered: Tributes can be seen for Dakota, who had spent some years in a boy's home before he was adopted by his grandmother. Friends wore black to school while he was fighting for his life in hospital

What next? Teer is currently suspended from Abraham Lincoln High School, pictured, but could be expelled or transferred or could be allowed to return to class. He says he legally did nothing wrong

What next? Teer is currently suspended from Abraham Lincoln High School, pictured, but could be expelled or transferred or could be allowed to return to class. He says he legally did nothing wrong

The school became divided in the aftermath of the fight, the World-Herald reported.

Escritt's friends decided to wear black to school while he was still in the hospital - and when Teer's friends caught wind of the plan, they decided to wear green.

But some students bucked both ideas and wore red and blue for a 'Unity Day' to show that the student body had to come together during the tough time.

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Abraham Lincoln High school student, who killed classmate with a single punch is cleared

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