Fight between two 7-year-olds turns violent after mom gets involved
An argument between two young children playing outside together escalated to violence when a parent got involved, a North Bay mom says.
North Bay police confirm they have charged a 33-year-old female with assault in the incident that happened nearly two weeks ago.
"As this incident involves minors, in order to protect their identity, I cannot release the name of the accused," North Bay Police Service spokesperson David Woolley told CTV News in an email Thursday afternoon.
CTV News spoke with the victim's mom, Stephanie, and is omitting her last name to protect her son's identity.
Stephanie told CTV News in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon her son was playing outside with other kids in the neighbourhood on McNamara Street when he got into an argument with one of his friends over the sharing of sleds.
She was out of town at the time with her other child at a basketball tournament, so her son was staying with a babysitter.
After the argument, the kids went their separate ways and he went to a nearby corner store with his babysitter's older son, she said.
While he was there, Stephanie said the mother of the girl he had a disagreement with came up to him, held him against the wall and choked the seven-year-old.
A store clerk intervened, escorted her out and walked the boys back to the babysitter's house.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
When Stephanie found out what happened, she said she called police right away.
"He is very shook up and scared, but he is physically OK," she said.
The accused was charged Jan. 30 after police compiled video footage and witness statements, Stephanie said.
After the incident, Stephanie said she reached out to the other mom whose response was, "went to your door, nobody answered, so I handled it." An apology has never been offered, she said.
As a result of the attack, she said her son doesn't want to play outside because the accused lives nearby and luckily, the two children don't go to school together.
Both victim and witness services have reached out to offer the young victim counselling, Stephanie said.
All she wants is for the neighbourhood children to be safe again, she added.
The accused was released on an undertaking following her arrest and is scheduled to appear in court March 14.
The charge has not been proven in court.
Correction
The gender of the other child involved in the argument was incorrectly identified as male in the initial publication, the friend was a 7-year-old female and the article above has been corrected.
The victim's mother clarified the assault took place Jan. 21 and while she called police that same day, they went in to make an official report the next day.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.