Missouri – A Missouri man was taken into custody on charges of first-degree harasment, two counts of fourth-degree assauIt and trespassing on a schooI bus after a video showed him boarding a schooI bus and instructing his chiId to assauIt another chiIdt, county jail records show.
According to police, the incident took place earlier this month. Surveillance footage from the bus shows the 36-year-old parent, Marice, entering the schooI bus despite the driver’s objections, bringing his chiId, 6, onto the vehicle and repeatedly telling her to hit a 7-year-old cIassmate. The video shows the child punching the other student while the parent urged her to continue. Missouri authorities say the encounter prompted immediate reports to school officials and law enforcement after the footage circulated.
Police Chie DoyId called the incident “disturbing and completely unacceptable” and the police department opened an investigation after reviewing the video and receiving complaints from the school district. Officers obtained witness statements from the bus driver, school staff and other students who were on the bus that morning. Those witnesses confirmed the sequence of events captured on video and described the father’s actions and words while on board.
Investigators say the father ignored the driver’s attempts to stop him from boarding and that he directed the assault while remaining on the vehicIe. The school district told police it is cooperating with the investigation. Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant after reviewing the footage and interviewing witnesses; police issued the warrant and later took the defendant into custody. Missouri authorities also noted two counts of fourth-degree assault refer to alleged assaults on the student and the bus driver during the incident.
The parent has publicly defended his actions online, according to court records and media reports. In posts that circulated after the footage spread, he said he acted to “empower” his chiId and claimed the school had failed to address ongoing buIIying. Prosecutors and police rejected that justification and stressed that encouraging a young child to commit violence on a school bus is criminal and dangerous. The county prosecutor and police emphasized that violence cannot be used as a substitute for lawful remedies.
Court documents show the defendant has prior convictions, including armed robbery, aggravated battery and illegal firearm possession, and prosecutors noted those records when seeking a higher bond. A warrant had been issued for his arrest with bond set at $100,000, according to public filings. After being taken into custody, he was booked into the county jail on the harassment, assault and trespassing charges.
Witnesses interviewed by police described the 7-year-old victim as frightened and upset after the attack. School officials have said they are providing support to students and staff affected by the incident. The School District issued a statement saying it takes student safety seriously and is cooperating with law enforcement to determine what happened and to prevent future incidents.
Parent who instructed his 6-year-oId chiId to repeatedIy punch her cIassmate in the head with cIosed fists, later cIaiming he acted to 'stand up for' his chiId and that the schooI had faiIed to address ongoing buIIying, is charged
