A Texas mother is accused of making a drink concoction that left her son’s alleged bully hospitalized.
Jennifer Lynn Rossi, 45, was charged with injury to a child causing bodily injury for making the vinegar, salt, and lemon mixture and pouring it into a sports drink bottle, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were called to Legacy Traditional School-Alamo Ranch last week, on March 5, following the report of a sick child who was given a drink by a classmate. The student was experiencing nausea and a headache after taking a sip in P.E. class.
“Through the course of the investigation, it was learned that the mother of the student who provided the drink, intentionally mixed the contents of the drink to allegedly prevent her son’s drink from being stolen at school by other students,” authorities said.
A statement by the school went into further detail:
“On Tuesday morning, March 5, a Legacy – Alamo Ranch student brought a homemade beverage to school and shared it with classmates, resulting in one student requiring medical attention. The concoction – which we understand included a mixture of lemon juice, salt, vinegar and Gatorade – was immediately confiscated by school staff members and administrators, and local law enforcement was notified. The student who initially brought the drink to school will be subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with Legacy policies governing student conduct.”
While at the hospital, medical staff closely monitored the victim before he was released.
According to NBC News, citing an affidavit, Rossi, a nurse, told the principal that she made the “non-toxic” mixture. In a statement, her 10-year-old son said that the victim “kept bragging” about stealing his drink that went missing the day before the incident.
When he got home, he told his mother what had happened, and she came up with the “prank,” the outlet reported. The victim said Rossi’s son “accused” him, and another person tried hitting him for taking the sports drink. An investigation into this case is underway.
“Whether the allegations of bullying at the root of this situation are substantiated or not, there is never an excuse to take matters into your own hands and injure a child,” Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement to People.
Last year, a San Antonio woman was killed while trying to protect her daughter from bullies who arrived at their home at night. As Fox News reported, a 36-year-old woman was charged for “intentionally” running over Ashley Lopez, a mother of five kids.
