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Sheriff: Man charged with attempted murder in attack on Hoke County teacher

Authorities on Wednesday night identified the man who walked into a Hoke County classroom and attacked a teacher earlier this week.

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RAEFORD, N.C. — Authorities on Wednesday night identified the man who walked into a Hoke County classroom and attacked a teacher earlier this week.

Hoke County investigators said a man walked into West Hoke Elementary School, at 6050 Turnpike Road, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday through a side door that was left unlocked for parents picking up their children from an afterschool program, asked the teacher about a former employee and then beat her with an unidentified metal object.

The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday identified the man as Michael Lee Nivens, 34, and charged him with attempted first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Nivens was not in custody Wednesday night and a cash reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

The teacher was recovering Tuesday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville. She suffered injuries to her head, face and hands, authorities said.

The afterschool program is in another part of the school, so no students were nearby when the teacher was attacked.

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