A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly helped her son and one of his friends beat up one of their middle school classmates in an attack on school grounds. Ashley Ruffin accompanied her son to the altercation at Indian Trails Middle School in Palm Coast and even brought a taser with her, the NY Daily News reports.
- The attack on the victim was cowardly and violent. While Ruffin herself grabbed the victim by his hair and held him down so her son and his friend could hit him repeatedly, the boys themselves brutally beat the victim.
- The victim’s mother reported the incident to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Officers were called to the school’s sports complex by the victim’s mother, who watched the entire thing go down. She told police she saw Ruffin get out of her car and get involved in the fight.
- The victim was sitting with his friends when he was attacked. He told police that two kids approached him and one of them started hitting and pushing him before the other kid got involved. He said that 30-year-old Ruffin joined in and held him down, an accusation that other witnesses corroborated.
- Ruffin was arrested and her son is expected to be charged too. Ruffin faces charges of battery and child abuse and her son will face charges of battery at juvenile court. “There is zero excuse for an adult, especially a parent, to be physically involved in a juvenile dispute,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement following the arrest. “Kids need to have leadership from their parents and taught how to handle disputes properly. I doubt she will receive a mother of the year award.”