Hair-pulling brawl erupts at KINDERGARTEN graduation ceremony after mom, 28, was accused of hogging seats
A wild brawl broke out at a kindergarten graduation ceremony in Ohio after a woman was accused of taking up too many chairs and obstructing other parents’ views of her children’s big day.
Craig Mays, one of the parents who attended Thursday morning’s ceremony at Queen of Apostles School, said the fight started when a separate family grabbed their own chairs and began creating their own seating area.
This left the daughter unable to see her mother and led to an escalation of the conflict with Jessica Anderson, 28, who was seated directly behind them at the ceremony in Toledo, about 240 miles north of Columbus, near the Michigan border.
“The girl behind me was just talking and cursing and talking crazy,” Mays said. WTVG. ‘They call us weird and say we should mind our own business.’
After a brief argument, Mays said Anderson’s family of ten (five men and five women in the first two rows) suddenly attacked them.
“I don’t really remember anything,” Mays said. ‘I just know I got sucker punched.’
Mays said a group of four or five men began kicking him in the head while he was on the ground, causing his daughter’s mother to intervene and begin fighting with Anderson.
“She grabbed my child’s mother by the hair, pulled her away from me, started punching her in the face, and then maybe five or six more girls came and trampled her and trampled her and kicked her in the face,” Mays added.
Parents began fighting after a woman was accused of obstructing other parents’ views during a kindergarten graduation ceremony at Queen of Apostles School.
Jessica Anderson, 28, was charged with aggravated assault in connection with a fight at a kindergarten graduation ceremony
Video of the incident shows fighting parents falling off chairs and spilling onto the gym floor.
Anderson was arrested, charged with aggravated assault, and taken to the Lucas County Jail.
As of Friday, no one else had been charged in connection with the fight, although video showed multiple adults in the fight.
Mays, who is also a kindergarten teacher, said she was heartbroken because she couldn’t watch her daughter graduate because of the brawl.
‘I know how hard these kids work’ [and] “I know how hard these teachers work for us just to ruin it and be selfish like this,” he said.
Mays said she considered pulling her daughter out of school after the incident.
‘I probably won’t send my daughter there next year,’ she said WTOL. ‘Just based on this situation.’
Queen of the Apostles School is a Catholic school with 120 students and prides itself as being ‘particularly dedicated to serving the Hispanic population in its neighborhood.’
He added that Mays’ daughter’s mother was taken to the emergency room for treatment.
‘He has staples in his head. He was bleeding. His ankle is in pretty bad shape. “Both shows are pretty bad,” Mays said. ‘It was a very bad day for my family.’
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Queen of the Apostles School in Toledo has about 120 students and bills itself as a Catholic institution ‘especially dedicated to serving the Hispanic population in its neighborhood.’
Anderson allegedly caused “serious injury” to a victim, whose name has been redacted, by “grabbing her hair and hitting her head against a chair,” according to an affidavit filed Thursday in Toledo Municipal Court.
In the application, it was stated that the victim had to have his head stapled in the hospital after the fight. He was released on his own recognizance and placed under house arrest on Friday.
A preliminary hearing in Anderson’s case is scheduled for June 10 in Toledo Municipal Court.
Mays, who attended Catholic school from kindergarten through eighth grade, said he didn’t think something like this would happen “in a million years.”
“I’ve been going there forever and nothing like this has ever happened,” she told the outlet. ‘This will forever be a stain on everything.’
On Thursday morning, Queen of the Apostles School posted on Facebook that they were “so grateful” for their partnership with Toledo police.
‘We appreciate your quick response to the situation some individuals brought to our school,’ the school said. ‘Thankfully, all our students are safe and the last day of school continues as usual.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Queen of the Apostles School, the Toledo Police Department and Anderson for further comment.
Anderson’s attorney was listed in court records as Stuart S. Schwab, but no contact information was provided for him.
