Current:Home > MyPolice arrest suspect weeks after brutal attack of 13-year-old at a McDonald's in Los Angeles -ValueCore
Police arrest suspect weeks after brutal attack of 13-year-old at a McDonald's in Los Angeles
View
Date:2025-04-19 14:41:56
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! (17377)
Related
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- 'Pawn Stars' TV star Rick Harrison's son Adam dies at 39 of a suspected drug overdose
- Djokovic reaches the Australian Open quarterfinals, matching Federer's Grand Slam record
- Retrial set to begin for man who fatally shot ex-Saints star after traffic collision
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Feds look to drastically cut recreational target shooting within Arizona’s Sonoran Desert monument
- Travis Kelce Proves He's the King of Taylor Swift's Heart During Chiefs Playoffs Game
- Sarah Ferguson shares malignant melanoma diagnosis just months after breast cancer
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Indonesia’s Mount Merapi unleashes lava as other volcanoes flare up, forcing thousands to evacuate
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Much of US still gripped by Arctic weather as Memphis deals with numerous broken water pipes
- Not Gonna Miss My … Shot. Samsung's new Galaxy phones make a good picture more of a sure thing
- That 'True Detective: Night Country' frozen 'corpsicle' is unforgettable, horrifying art
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Jordan Love’s promising debut season as Packers starter ends with big mistakes vs. 49ers
- NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21
- Piedad Cordoba, an outspoken leftist who straddled Colombia’s ideological divide, dies at age 68
Recommendation
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
Hearing complaints over property taxes, some Georgia lawmakers look to limit rising values
Bishop Gene Robinson on why God called me out of the closet
Albom: Detroit Lions' playoff run becomes center stage for dueling QB revenge tour
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Report: US sees 91 winter weather related deaths
Jon Scheyer apologizes to Duke basketball fans after ‘unacceptable’ loss to Pitt
Michelle Trachtenberg Responds to Fans' Concerns Over Her Appearance