Skip to main content

McLean daycare worker charged after police say she pushed, hit a pair of toddlers

An Alexandria, Virginia, woman who worked at a McLean daycare center has been charged after police said she assaulted two 2-year-old children while teaching at the facility.

Wafa Abdelhafiz Abdalla, 61, was a teacher at Faz Creative Education Learning Center when the alleged assaults occurred, according to Fairfax County police.

Detectives with the Fairfax County Police Department’s Child Abuse Squad responded to the daycare center on Aug. 27 after receiving a report of an assault.

Police said Abdalla allegedly “forcefully pushed a 2-year-old boy to the floor and struck another 2-year-old boy in the head with an open hand.”

Abdalla was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. She was released on a summons, police said.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about this case or any potentially related incidents to contact the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 4. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or online.

Breaking the silence around suicide: A Virginia mother shares thoughts on prevention

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Betsy Stephenson, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident and a mother who lost her son to suicide, wants people to talk about it. "By not talking about suicide, we are not going to make it go away. In fact, I think that we could inadvertently give it a little more power than it deserves," she told WTOP. One of the things that Stephenson wants families to know is that people who are struggling can appear to be doing well. "You can be very high-functioning as a depressed person or an anxious person," she said. "You can be connected socially. You can be doing well at school or work. You can be making plans, smiling, laughing, engaged, but still be struggling deeply, you know, cosmically, inside."
Read Next Story