‘He was threatening to kill me’: Special education teacher robbed at knife point while teaching on Zoom

'He was telling me, 'Don't move. Give me your wallet and keys,' Amanda Zupancic recalls

A special education teacher in Ohio has spoken of how she was robbed at knifepoint in her home while she was in the middle of a virtual meeting with a student and their parents.

Amanda Zupancic of Cleveland, who works for Kirtland Local Schools, told Good Morning America she was in the middle of a Zoom call when a man broke into her house and threatened her.

"I was at the top of the stairs. He was struggling with my baby gate," Ms Zupancic explained.

"He was coming up, knife in his hand, threatening to kill me. I actually said, 'Is this happening right now?' It seemed unrealistic. I was scared."

Ms Zupancic said the man moved her to the bedroom and forced her to lay down while he rifled through her possessions and allegedly took watches and jewelry while the Zoom call continued in the next room.

"He was telling me, 'Don't move. Give me your wallet and keys,'" Ms Zupancic told the outlet.

Instead of handing her belongings over Ms Zupancic brought the assailant downstairs and unlocked another baby gate to release her two dogs on the man, she said.

After releasing her german shepherd and a Great Dane-boxer mix, one of the dogs went after the robber, giving Ms Zupancic explained she had a chance to grab a pair of scissors and chase the man.

When out in the street Ms Zupancic was able to alert several neighbours who called the police, she told the broadcaster. The parent on the zoom call also placed a call to authorities, she said.

Transit police in the area successfully apprehended the subject until Cleveland Polic arrived and arrested the man, who has been identified as Charles Derosett, officials reportedly said.

Ms Zupancic, who is a mother to a one-year-old, said her husband and baby had left the house less than half an hour before the break-in occurred through the porch window.

Mr Derosett has been charged with aggravated robbery, assault and other charges, according to Cleveland Police. It's unclear if the man has legal representation.