Current:Home > MarketsPolice arrest suspect weeks after brutal attack of 13-year-old at a McDonald's in Los Angeles -FutureFinance
Police arrest suspect weeks after brutal attack of 13-year-old at a McDonald's in Los Angeles
View
Date:2025-04-17 16:57:05
Officials arrested a 31-year-old woman Thursday for allegedly attacking a 13-year-old at a Los Angeles McDonald's in a now viral video.
The suspect, Ariana Lauifi, is being held in suspicion of a child abuse felony for the Sept. 6 attack in the Harbor City neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
"The public’s continued interest in the incident resulted in investigators receiving numerous leads, ultimately assisting detectives in positively identifying the suspect," LAPD wrote in a news release.
Cell phone video recordings show a woman brutally punching and kicking 13-year-old Kassidy Jones multiple times, pulling her hair and forcing her to the floor inside the fast-food restaurant as no bystanders interfere. Jones said she and her friends were walking home from school when they stopped at the restaurant to use the restroom, KTLA reported.
See also:Ohio couple sentenced to prison for fraud scheme involving dubious Alzheimer's diagnoses
Jones said a woman she had never met before quickly lunged at her and began beating her. The child added the entire incident was completely unprovoked. She recalled the attacker saying "What the F are you looking at? I fight kids. I’ll fight you!"
The suspect is currently held with the bail price set for $100,000, jail records show. The case will be sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration, LAPD said.
The victim suffered severe bruising including on her face, according ABC7. Jones' mother reportedly said her daughter is also hurting emotionally.
"She can't sleep at night. She's bruised," the victim's mother Angelina Gray told ABC7. "She doesn't want to go to school because she's tired of the kids and everybody asking her what happened and making fun of her."
"The family of Kassidy Jones are extremely grateful that the LAPD has made an arrest of the woman who viciously beat Kassidy in an unprovoked attack inside McDonald's. As McDonald's managers and onlookers offered no help in stopping the assault," a spokesperson for the family said in a statement.
"Kassidy, is still traumatized and undergoing therapy. But hopefully this news will give her encouragement that justice will be served. Kassidy deserves a break today."
“We were horrified to learn about this violent attack, and our thoughts are with Kassidy and her family," store owner and operator Tawnie Blade told USA TODAY. "Employees called police when the fight began, and we’re continuing to work closely with local law enforcement to help with their investigation."
More:Lightning strike kills 16-year-old Florida girl who was out hunting with her dad
veryGood! (745)
Related
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- 4 out of 5 Mexicans who got a flu shot this year turned down Cuban and Russian COVID-19 vaccines
- Poland set to get more than 5 billion euros in EU money after commission approves recovery plan
- Atlantic City casino profits fall 7.5% in 3rd quarter of 2023
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Climate change hits women’s health harder. Activists want leaders to address it at COP28
- Vermont governor streamlines building of temporary emergency housing for flood victims
- Transgender women have been barred from playing in international women’s cricket
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Taylor Swift Shakes Off Wardrobe Malfunction by Throwing Broken Louboutin Heel Into Eras Tour Crowd
Ranking
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Vermont governor streamlines building of temporary emergency housing for flood victims
- Slovakia’s new government led by populist Robert Fico wins a mandatory confidence vote
- A vehicle rams into a victory celebration for Liberia’s president-elect, killing 2 and injuring 18
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- After fire destroys woman's car, but not her Stanley tumbler, company steps up
- Congo and the UN sign a deal for peacekeepers to withdraw after more than 2 decades and frustration
- Listeria outbreak linked to recalled peaches, plums and nectarines leaves 1 dead, 10 sick
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
US, UK and Norway urge South Sudan to pull troops from oil-rich region of Abyei amid violence
Nevada election-fraud crusader loses lawsuit battle against Washoe County in state court
Polish police arrest woman with Islamic extremist sympathies who planted explosive device in Warsaw
Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
Public Enemy, R.E.M., Blondie, Heart and Tracy Chapman get nods for Songwriters Hall of Fame
Gum chewing enrages her — and she’s not alone. What’s misophonia?
Pizza Hut displays giant pizza on the Las Vegas Exosphere to promote $7 Deal Lover’s Menu