Inset: Madison Evans. Background: Toni Moore at her first appearance hearing in Suffolk County, New York (WABC).
A 35-year-old mother assaulted a teen girl who was sparring with her daughter at a New York high school, authorities say.
In a press release, the Suffolk County Police Department reported that officers were dispatched around 11 a.m. on Tuesday to Brentwood High School on Long Island due to a fight. According to authorities, a 14-year-old girl was leaving the school when a verbal altercation began with a 15-year-old girl. Unlike expected, the elder girl’s mother, Toni Moore, intervened by striking her daughter’s adversary with a metal water bottle several times in the head, as alleged by police.
A security officer stepped in, leading to Moore’s arrest in the parking lot shortly thereafter. She faces charges of second-degree assault and jeopardizing the welfare of a child. Police confirmed that the teenager was taken to the hospital to treat injuries considered non-life-threatening.
The girl, Madison Evans, told New York ABC affiliate WABC she received 17 stitches on her forehead.
“Her mother just came over and started hitting me with the bottle,” recounted the 10th grader in an interview with a TV station. “I touched my head and noticed blood dripping. When I touched it again, my hands were covered in blood.”
During a court appearance, Moore’s lawyer asserted that it was Evans who was the antagonist and that Moore was there to address concerns about bullying with school officials.
A video of the purported incident is said to capture the two girls engaging in an argument and Moore instructing her daughter to “Give me your Stanley” prior to the alleged attack unfolding.
Shameakca Forney, Madison’s guardian, told WABC that Moore’s actions are unacceptable.
“She could’ve died,” she said. “Anything could’ve happened to her, more than just being hit over the head and having 17 stitches.”
At a court hearing on Wednesday, a judge released Moore on a GPS monitor.
