Facebook friends? Not so much.
A woman allegedly slapped her 72-year-old grandmother several times in the face because she was upset that granny turned down her Facebook friend request.
According to multiple media outlets, the suspect in the assault is Rachel Anne Hayes, 27.
The confrontation allegedly occurred early Thursday morning in the Clearwater, Florida, area when Hayes got into a dispute with her grandmother at the older woman’s residence.
“It is unclear if the granddaughter was just visiting when the argument broke out or if she specifically went to the grandmother’s home to confront her about the friends request denial,” the Clearwater Patch reported .
In a slightly different account of the incident, WTSP , Channel 10 Tampa/Sarasota, reported that the older woman did not accept her granddaughter’s Facebook friend request “because she felt Hayes’ Facebook name was inappropriate. However, she told Hayes if she changed the name, she would accept the request to which Hayes refused and walked out of the home.”
Hayes returned to the residence later, Channel 10 recounted, and that’s when things got decidedly un friendly, and the renewed bickering and the assault allegedly happened at the front door. The victim then retreated into her home and locked the door and presumably called 911. The suspect had already left the residence when deputies arrived, but they apparently tracked her down in short order.
Pinellas County cops arrested Hayes on a charge of domestic battery on an elderly person, a felony. She was booked into the Pinellas County jail and later released on a $10,000 bond.
“According to Hayes’ arrest affidavit, alcohol was a factor,” WFLA noted.
The suspect apparently has several prior arrests for DUI and disorderly conduct.
In case you’re wondering about that inappropriate Facebook name, “The Facebook name that allegedly set the argument in action was not released by authorities. However, Facebook has a well-known policy of requiring users to use the name they identify with in real life,” ABC News reported .
Commenting on the purported anti-social, social media-related behavior, a columnist for The Federalist Papers columnist offered this summation.
“My guess is that the grandmother had good cause to refuse to associate with her granddaughter, even on Facebook. It’s almost enough to make you want to give up on society altogether, when the old and vulnerable are subject to the violent attack of their much younger kin, and over the most petty and stupid of things.”
Setting aside this alleged violent incident, do you think users, in general, take the whole Facebook friend thing a little too personally?
[image via Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aS-knw_Pfo
