A Florida mother was captured on video attacking a girl at a high school bus stop after the teen got into a fight with her daughter, police say.
Kathryn Stephanopoulos, 34, was arrested on Aug. 19 and charged with felony child abuse, according to the Miami Herald, citing a report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
One of the three juveniles involved in the brawl was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated assault. However, since the names of the minors were withheld by authorities, it’s unclear which one was taken to jail.
Investigators also recommended misdemeanor charges against a second girl involved in the fracas, and these charges were sent to the state attorney’s office for review.
No other arrests were made, leaving one girl uncharged in the fight.
It was not clear if Stephanopoulos had hired an attorney.
The Flagler County School district in North Daytona has not commented on the incident, which started on a packed bus as students from Palm Coast High School went home for the day.
The resulting brawl was recorded in a three-minute video that emerged on TV news and led to the woman’s arrest.
Just before the fight, Stephanopoulos’ daughter texted her, saying she was about to fight a girl she used to be friends with until their relationship went south over the summer, according to the arrest report.
The beef spilled over into the new school year as fall classes began just two days before the fight.
On the ride home from school on Aug. 14, words were exchanged, and the former friends agreed to settle their differences as soon as they reached the bus stop.
The girl’s mother was already waiting at the drop-off point when the bus arrived.
Moments later, the video picks up, showing the two girls stepping off the bus, removing their backpacks and squaring up before fists started flying.
After a few seconds, Stephanopoulos jumped in, but instead of breaking up the fight, the footage showed the petite woman grabbing the young girl aggressively as her daughter kept throwing blows.
During the struggle, Stephanopoulos and the student fell to the ground, where the woman allegedly placed the girl in a headlock, restricting her breathing, the girl told deputies afterward.
As Stephanopoulos was grappling with the girl on the ground, the young girl’s sister joined the fray and slugged it out with the woman’s daughter.
At another point a male student join the fracas in an attempt to break it up but was quickly drawn in and began throwing blows as well.
“How did this s*** even get instigated bruh?” one student said. “How this s*** even happen?”
Amid the chaos, the bus driver started leaning on the horn and yelling at the woman and the girls to stop fighting.
When that didn’t work, the girl’s sister told deputies she hit Stephanopoulos in the face with a metal cup to free her sibling from the headlock, according to the arrest report.
“Did she just hit her with a Stanley cup?” a student asked off-camera in the video.
“Yes, she did,” another student replied.
“That’s crazy!” the first student said.
The fight continued until more bystanders arrived and finally broke it up, according to the video.
Shortly after someone from the bus can be heard yelling, “Your mom’s going to prison!”
Eventually, Stephanopoulos and her daughter got into their car and left, bringing the video to a close.
The bus driver called 911, and deputies who arrived at the scene interviewed witnesses and the sisters involved.
The other mother of the two girls told police she wanted to press charges after saying she was “extremely upset about the marks” that were left on her children, allegedly by a grown woman.
Five days later, when deputies showed up to arrest Stephanopoulos, she told them that she came to the bus stop hoping the students would call off the fight if they saw an adult there, according to police.
Sheriff Rick Staly was not pleased with the mother’s actions. “Instead of deescalating the situation, we have a mother who joined in the fray, setting a bad example for her child and those at the bus stop,” Sheriff Staly said in a statement. “She certainly won’t receive mother of the year with her actions. Parents need to set the example and not be part of the problem. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but now a mother is facing serious charges for losing control of her temper.”
Stephanopoulos did express “regret and embarrassment” over her actions and provided paperwork that indicated she received medical attention for injuries she sustained, including a bruised and swollen face.
After she was booked, Stephanopoulos posted a $10,000 bond and was released.
