Video shows a New Jersey teacher protecting a student from teenage attackers

BAYONNE, NJ – A New Jersey educator saw a student being attacked by a group of other teenagers and used her own body to protect him.

It happened Tuesday in front of Shemin Midtown Community School in Bayonne.

5 teenagers arrested in attack in front of school in Bayonne

Dramatic video shows a boy being trampled, beaten and dragged by a group of teenagers. The audience stands around and watches, but Cathy Hurley did the opposite.

Hurley tries to extend her arms but is ignored. The special education teacher then places her body on top of the victim and also covers his head to protect him from further harm.

“It’s only when she kind of takes his head in her arms that there’s a reaction or a halt to the attack,” said Hurley’s daughter Frances Sielski.

According to police, the victim was temporarily unconscious.

“The fact that this poor child was really brutally attacked just makes her very sad,” Sielski said.

Within two days, police arrested five teenagers and charged them with aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim and rioting.

“It is truly a vicious attack. I can’t imagine just standing there,” Sielski said.

“She acted like an angel”

So far, the school principal has not responded to CBS News New York’s request for comment, but Sielski says she isn’t surprised that her mother used her body as a shield and says the former paramedic and devoted grandma always stood up for her the outsiders deployed.

“It was instinctive. She would jump in immediately and do whatever it took to save someone’s life,” Sielski said. “I just think she acted like an angel in this case and that it’s the really ordinary people who end up saving and making the biggest impact.”

Hurley’s daughter says her mother returned to work the next day to take care of her students, and although she is receiving a lot of attention from this incident, her daughter says she is keeping a low profile because of what she did , was a given.