CMS teacher suspended with pay after arrest over SC Sam’s Club incident
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher was suspended with pay Wednesday following her arrest in South Carolina over an assault.
CMS suspended Ashley Murff, a teacher for academically and intellectually gifted students at Winget Park Elementary in Steele Creek following her arrest at a South Carolina Sam’s Club on Saturday. Murff has taught in CMS since 2015, according to personnel records obtained through a public records request.
Richland County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. Saturday “after receiving a report of an assault stemming from a verbal dispute that allegedly involved a racial slur,” The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC reported Wednesday.
The victim alleged that the confrontation escalated when she tried to take a picture of the perpetrator, who she said then punched her. When officers arrived, the alleged assailant already had left.
Information about the specific nature of the racial slur was not available, Columbia newspaper The State reported.
Officers later reviewed security camera footage and identified Murff as the instigator of the altercation. She was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with third-degree assault and battery.
If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, Murff faces a maximum punishment of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, according to South Carolina law.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 2:18 PM.
