And again, a Facebook fracas makes it into the real world.
A 32-year-old Long Island woman- possible a mom to one of the minors involved- was arrested in the Mastic-Shirley area of the East End (just west of the Hamptons) for participating in a tween brawl. While one might think the role of a parent is to step in and prevent 12-year-old girls from ripping one another’s feather extensions out, Daphne Melin (whose relationship to the tween or tweens was not clear) is actually accused of encouraging the kids to have it out in the yard at William Floyd Elementary School in Shirley.
The kerfuffle occurred Sunday afternoon on school premises, although it’s not known why the parties were present at the school on the weekend. Melin later explained to police that the child for whom she was pulling during the fight had been cyberbullied by fellow students and that school officials had failed to intervene and help protect her child. Children present say Melin “egged on” the tween fisticuffs, but the woman’s offenses did not end there. According to witness accounts, after the melee, she attacked one of the children rather violently (if the account is accurate):
Mary Jones, 11, …said she saw “hair tugging and ripping and pushing and then the mom just started beating up the girl.”
Police said the fight on Sunday lasted several minutes… Melin “spit in the girl’s face and then grabbed her by the hair and kneed her in the head several times,” Suffolk police said.
Melin has been arrested by Suffolk County Police and charged with endangering the welfare of a child as well as attempted assault.
