Mom brings son, 7, to bus stop to fight boy — then she beats up boy's 13-year-old brother who was protecting him, cops say

Image source: Shelby County (Tenn.) Jail

Memphis police said a 13-year-old boy and his 7-year-old brother were waiting at a bus stop to go to school on December 1, 2023, when 25-year-old Rniya Criss pulled up with her 7-year-old son, WHBQ-TV reported. Criss wanted her son to fight the 13-year-old boy's younger brother, police told the station. But the 13-year-old boy intervened and said “his brother wasn’t going to fight anyone,” the Charlotte Observer reported, citing police. In addition, police said Criss then hit the 13-year-old boy in the face, WHBQ reported. The victim said she also kicked him in the neck, WREG-TV reported. The victim soon fell to the ground, and he was left with a bruise on his eye and an injured neck, WHBQ added. Police told WMC-TV the victim's father flagged down an officer regarding his son being assaulted at a Douglass Middle School bus stop. According to the Observer, the family wanted to prosecute, adding that police said the siblings identified the woman from a lineup. A warrant was issued Dec. 8, the paper said, adding that records show she was arrested in February 2024 and booked in the Shelby County Jail on charges of assault-bodily harm and child abuse and neglect, jail records state. WHBQ said the charges are misdemeanors. Jail records indicated she posted a $5,000 bond.

Dad enters HS classroom, confronts student for allegedly bothering his daughter; dad charged for making threats, assault

A New Jersey father was caught on video entering a Paulsboro High School classroom on March 11, 2024, and confronting a male student for allegedly bothering his daughter — and that dad, Aaron Thomas of Gibbstown, was charged with several offenses, including entering an unauthorized section of the school, threatening to punch and knock out a student, and assault for allegedly grabbing a second student’s arm and getting in his face.

Parent banned from his daughter's elementary school after allegedly punching teacher during argument with principal over masking double standard

The incident took place on the first day of school in August 2021 at Sutter Creek Elementary School in California's Amador County Unified School District. The male parent noted that the principal and his daughter were wearing masks, but teachers were not. The parent confronted the principal about the mask disparity when a male teacher stepped in between them. That argument escalated until the parent allegedly punched the teacher. The teacher suffered bleeding, bruising, and cuts to his face and was taken to a hospital for treatment. It isn't clear if charges were pursued against the parent.

Parents of fighting students actually enter Philly high school and get physically involved in the fracas, forcing hour-long lockdown

Cellphone video shared with WTXF-TV shows a girl grabbing another girl's hair as they throw punches and slam into lockers at Paul Robeson High School on Jan. 22, 2024. Officials with the School District of Philadelphia added to the station that several family members of the students came to the school and also became physically involved in the fighting, which forced the school to call police and the Office of School Safety. Officials also told WTXF that students were moved into classrooms and a lockdown lasted for about an hour.

Mom sneaks into middle school with students, then repeatedly punches teacher in class, breaking her facial bones: Authorities

The parent of a female student was able to get past Lincoln Middle School security on the morning of Feb. 16, 2024, because she's short, had a hood over her head, and appeared to be a student, Syracuse.com reported, citing Syracuse School Superintendent Anthony Davis. Police said Lynzina Sutton, 31, then located a female teacher she was looking for, the outlet reported. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told Syracuse.com that Sutton punched the teacher in the face multiple times, fracturing her nasal bone and maxillary spine bones and giving her a concussion. The teacher was released from a hospital, the outlet added. “These are injuries that you don’t often see in boxing matches, so they’re quite serious,” Fitzpatrick added to Syracuse.com. In a follow-up story, Syracuse.com said Sutton also is accused of threatening another teacher during the same incident and now faces a harassment charge and 11 counts of endangering the welfare of a child because students witnessed the assault.

Dad gets in massive brawl with students on HS campus; conflicts between students and his sons apparently sparked fighting

The incident took place on May 3, 2022, at Arizona's Tucson High School, leading to the arrest of the father and a student. Much of the melee was caught on video, and conflicting stories about what led to the brawl were afoot. Willie Smith, 40, was called to the school to pick up his two sons, who were being sent home following an incident with another group of students, KOLD-TV reported, citing the interim complaint. School staff and safety officers told Smith that he and his sons should leave through a rear exit instead of through campus to avoid a confrontation, KOLD said, citing the document. But Smith said he didn’t feel they needed to do that since school staff didn't tell him his sons had done anything wrong to be sent home, the station said, citing the complaint. In addition, Smith allegedly told staff if the ongoing issue wasn't addressed, there would be a problem, the station reported. The document indicated that Smith said, “If it’s going down, it’s going down here,” KOLD reported, adding that officers said Smith was referring to his sons protecting themselves if they were provoked. Smith then took his sons through the courtyard during lunch, the station reported. While Smith and his sons walked through the courtyard, there was an exchange between students and Smith’s sons, and a fight broke out, KOLD said, citing the document, which also said Smith engaged in “mutual combat with a student.” Smith admitted to fighting with the student and claimed the student was assaulting his son, the station said, citing the complaint. Smith was arrested on a felony charge of disrupting an educational institute, Tucson police said, according to the station.

'You talkin' s**t to my daughter?' Mom allegedly boards school bus, repeatedly punches 64-year-old driver, drags victim by her hair

Image source: Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff's Office

Surveillance video caught the moment when a mom allegedly boarded a school bus in Mesa, Arizona, asked the 64-year-old bus driver if she was "talkin' s**t" to her daughter," and then unleashed a flurry of punches on the driver — and even began dragging the screaming driver by her hair toward the bus exit. Police soon arrested 27-year-old Hermenegilda Marquez in connection with the April 11, 2024, incident, KSAZ-TV reported, adding that she's accused of aggravated assault on a school employee — a felony. Investigators stated that "the defendant was shown video of the attack on the bus and was told that because she was on video committing the assault, she would be charged with a felony, but she showed no emotion upon hearing this," KSAZ added.

Mom 'barged' into 3rd-grade classroom, threatened and cursed out teacher, blocked door preventing teacher, students from leaving: Report

The incident took place just after 8 a.m. on May 17, 2022, at Pyle Elementary School while the teacher was taking attendance, the Fresno Bee reported, citing a Fresno Teachers Association media release. The parent entered the school while campus gates were open, which allow a “free flow” of students heading to class, district spokesperson Diana Diaz told the paper. The parent and a teenage girl with her blocked the classroom door, preventing the teacher and her class from leaving the room while yelling and cursing at the teacher, the Bee said, citing the FTA statement. Another teacher overheard the disturbance and called police, who soon got the parent out of the school, the paper said.

Dad faces charges after he allegedly took part in fight between his son and another student

KLAS-TV reported that the incident took place April 12, 2023, adjacent to Dell H. Robison Middle School in Las Vegas. Videos of the fight, which circulated on social media, show a man identified as Jose Montes, 39, in the middle of the fight surrounded by numerous students, the station said. The video appears to show the adult male kicking a student in the head, KLAS said, adding that the student is on the ground with his arms wrapped around his head to protect himself. Montes turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center and was facing charges including child abuse and battery, the station said, adding that victim's mother said her son was recuperating with “concussion-like” symptoms after two trips to the hospital. About a week later, a judge ordered Montes released on electronic monitoring, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Parent tears off female teacher's COVID mask during heated exchange amid school masking requirements

While it fell short of an out-and-out physical attack, the district superintendent deemed the incident an assault. The altercation, according to the Washington Post, took place during the first week of the 2021-22 school year in the Eanes Independent School District in Austin. Superintendent Tom Leonard said a "parent physically assaulted a teacher by ripping a mask off her face ..." and that "this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Eanes ISD. Our staff are on the front lines of this pandemic; let's give them some space and grace. Please, I am asking everyone to be kind ... do not fight mask wars in our schools." A district spokesperson said the incident wasn't reported to local police.