Florida mother arrested after getting into fight with high school students to help daughter instead of tearing her apart

A Florida mother was caught on camera attacking a woman at a high school bus stop, police said. The teen got into a fight with her daughter.

Kathryn Stephanopoulos was arrested on August 19 and charged with aggravated child abuse, the Miami Herald reports, citing a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office report.

One of the three minors involved within the brawl was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault. However, since the names of the minors were withheld by authorities, it’s unclear which of them was sent to prison.

Investigators also beneficial misdemeanor charges be brought against a second girl involved within the commotion; those charges have been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for review.

No other arrests were made, and one girl involved within the fight remained uncharged.

It is unclear whether Stephanopoulos has hired a lawyer.

Flagler County School District officials in North Daytona haven’t commented on the incident, which began on a crowded bus as Palm Coast High School students were returning home.

The fight was captured on a three-minute video that appeared on TV news and led to the girl’s arrest.

According to the arrest report, just before the fight, Stephanopoulos’ daughter texted her saying she was going to fight the girl she had once been friends with until their relationship fell apart over the summer.

The conflict carried over into the brand new school 12 months, as fall classes began just two days before the fight.

Words were exchanged on the way in which back from school on August 14, and the previous friends agreed to sort out their differences once they reached the bus stop.

When the bus arrived, the girl’s mother was already waiting on the place where she was to be dropped off.

Moments later, footage emerges of two girls getting off the bus, taking off their backpacks and standing up in self-defense, after which starting to fistfight.

After a couple of seconds, Stephanopoulos stepped into motion, but instead of breaking up the fight, the footage shows the petite 34-year-old aggressively grabbing the young girl while her daughter continued to punch her.

During the scuffle, Stephanopoulos and the scholar fell to the bottom and the girl allegedly put a restraint on the girl’s head, restricting her respiration, the girl later told officers.

As Stephanopoulos struggled with the girl on the bottom, the young girl’s sister joined the fight and fought the girl’s daughter.

Amid the chaos, the bus driver began honking his horn and shouting at the girl and girls to stop arguing.

When that did not work, the girl’s sister told officers she hit Stephanopoulos within the face with a metal cup to free her sister from the headlock, according to the arrest report.

“Did she just hit her with a Stanley cup?” a student asked, out of frame, within the video.

“Yes, she did,” one other student replied.

“This is madness!” said the primary student.

According to the recording, the fight continued until more witnesses arrived and eventually broke it up.

Moments later, screams are heard: “Your mom is going to jail!”

Eventually, Stephanopoulos and her daughter got into their automobile and drove away, thus ending the recording.

The bus driver called 911, and officers who arrived on the scene interviewed witnesses and the sisters involved.

The other mother of each girls told police she wanted to press charges after saying she was “very upset” in regards to the marks left on her children’s bodies by an adult woman.

Five days later, when officers showed up to arrest Stephanopoulos, she told them she had come to the bus stop hoping students would call off a fight in the event that they saw an adult there, police said.

She expressed regret for her behaviour and provided documents proving she had received medical treatment for her injuries, including bruising and swelling to her face.

After her arrest, Stephanopoulos posted $10,000 bail and was released.