The New York City Department of Education said on Friday that it had requested an independent review of its hiring and vetting procedures after a school employee with a history of erratic behavior was charged with fatally stabbing a Brooklyn jogger.
Kamar Samuels, the chancellor of the city’s school system, the largest in the United States, said he had asked the city’s Law Department to lead the investigation, which would include an examination of how information about job applicants is shared among city agencies.
The move was prompted by the arrest this month of Sayed Mohassib, 27, a paraprofessional at a Brooklyn elementary school who was charged in the stabbing death of the jogger, Katie Suarez. Mr. Mohassib has not yet entered a plea in the case.
Mr. Mohassib worked one on one with students with disabilities at Public School 200, located about a mile from where Mr. Suarez, 28, was stabbed along the waterfront in southern Brooklyn on Oct. 30.
He had been hired despite apparent warning signs in his employment history — including a short stint at the Police Department that ended when he was denied reinstatement and an abrupt discharge from the Marine Corps — as well as several mental health episodes, according to police officials and a military spokesman.
“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,” Mr. Samuels said in a statement. “We stand ready to immediately take action based on their recommendations.”
The arrest of Mr. Mohassib has stunned parents and colleagues at P.S. 200, also known as the Benson School, who have questioned how he could have passed a department background check and been hired to work closely with students. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this week that the city would review his hiring.
A colleague at the elementary school said that Mr. Mohassib had shared details with co-workers about his mental health struggles, including an episode that occurred at home while he was working at a high school that resulted in him being hospitalized for three months. The colleague, Natale Di Maggio, said that Mr. Mohassib had claimed to have stopped taking his medication for mental health issues.
“He said he didn’t need them,” said Mr. Di Maggio, a paraprofessional.
Mr. Mohassib started at P.S. 200 last school year, Mr. Di Maggio said. When he arrived for the new school year in September, he looked noticeably different, Mr. Di Maggio said. He had lost a lot of weight and swapped the slacks he had once worn for baggy pants.
Some co-workers felt uncomfortable around Mr. Mohassib and kept their distance, according to two other people familiar with the concerns.
They said Mr. Mohassib had asked teachers to follow him on Instagram, where he had posted shirtless photos of his large tattoos — a shark and a tiger on his chest and cascading words on his stomach that included “Donald J. Trump,” “the Antichrist” and “death.”
Mr. Mohassib first joined the Department of Education in 2019 as a full-time school aide, according to city payroll records. To be hired, he would have had to be nominated by a principal, complete a questionnaire that includes questions about job terminations and military service, and pass a background check, which involves a review of past employment and any criminal history.
He later left the department and entered the Police Academy in April 2022. Mr. Mohassib started working as a police officer that October but was granted military leave near the end of November. About two weeks later, he was discharged.
“The character of his service was incongruent with the Marine Corps’ expectations and standards,” Capt. Jacob M. Sugg, a military spokesman, said.
In January 2023, Mr. Mohassib tried to rejoin the Police Department, police officials said. But when he met with department supervisors, they became so concerned about his behavior and his disheveled appearance that he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, the officials said.
But he was soon able to rejoin the Education Department. Despite his previous employment, his rehiring would have required another nomination, another questionnaire and another background check, according to two people with knowledge of Mr. Mohassib’s hiring.
Whether the department asked about his string of brief jobs or whether he disclosed his mental health history remains unclear.
Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
