Mom runs over child she accused of bullying, Arizona cops say. ‘I am going to kill you’
An Arizona woman is charged with attempted first-degree murder after police say she ran over a child she believed was bullying her kids, news outlets reported.
The woman, 30, drove to WestGreen Park in Peoria around 4 p.m. on Feb. 27, police said, according to KTVK. She walked over to a group of kids, and a verbal argument began.
She grabbed a 14-year-old by the hair then chased another kid with a stick, police said, according to KSAZ.
“(The woman) was then seen going back to her vehicle, which was now occupied by her four children, and aggressively backed her vehicle towards the exit, but instead of exiting she drove forward, at a high rate of speed, towards the playground area where at least 15 juveniles were standing,” a probable cause statement said, according to KTAR.
While driving through the park, she was yelling, “I am going to kill you and run you over,” KSAZ reported, citing court documents.
She drove through the park’s rock landscape and ran over a girl’s ankle, then left the park, according to KTVK.
An attorney for the woman was not listed in court records.
McClatchy News is not identifying her to protect the identities of her children.
“I’m very blown away right now,” Nina Castillo, who lives nearby, told KSAZ. “Just knowing that someone was in this park, driving a car around, just trying to run over a child!”
Officers tracked the woman down by her license plate, KTAR reported.
She later told detectives the incident started because she saw the kids “throwing wood chips at three of her kids and believed one of them punched her 10-year-old daughter,” according to KTVK.
“(She continued by stating her children are being bullied at school and have had issues with this group of kids before and reported it to the school and police but nothing has been done,” court documents said, according to KSAZ. “(She) thought the bullying was being continued at the park when she drove up and saw her daughter get hit by one of the other juveniles.”
The woman told police that when she confronted the kids, one of them called her a name and another followed her to her truck and began dancing behind it, KTVK reported. She also said she didn’t believe she ran over the girl.
She is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder and multiple counts of endangerment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault on a minor, KTAR reported.
Peoria is about 15 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Mom beats up 13-year-old student at bus stop when he tries to stop fight, TN cops say
High school athlete was forced to keep running in sweltering heat and died, lawsuit says
11-year-old girl presses box cutter to boy’s neck and whispers threat, Florida cops say
