Baltimore Riots: Mom Smacks Son for Taking Part in Violence
— -- A Baltimore woman took action when she saw her son hanging out with violent demonstrators Monday.
The woman, identified by ABC affiliate WMAR as the boy's mother, was watching television when she saw her son throwing rocks at police, the station reported.
She went to find him in the crowd and the confrontation turned physical. The woman was caught on camera grabbing the boy and smacking him in the face.
"Are you kidding me?" she's heard saying. The station did not identify her by name.
An individual mother-and-child incident like this one is the best way to get these violent groups to listen, according to ABC News contributor and former FBI agent Steve Gomez.
"If you get them separated, and you get their family member, someone they respect, to lay into them," he said. "I don't think that they're going to listen to anybody other than their parents or someone in their family that they respect."
Fifteen officers were injured Monday when violent groups threw bricks, rocks and other objects at police.
About 75 to 100 school-age children were involved in the violence, police said, as they urged parents to bring their children home:
At a news conference Monday, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts referenced one mother who grabbed her son and smacked him on the head, although it is unclear whether this is the same mother caught on video.
"I wish I had more parents that took charge of their kids out there tonight," Batts said.
Baltimore City Public Schools are closed today in the wake of the violence.
A citywide curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m. today until 5 a.m. Wednesday. The 10 p.m. curfews will last for one week, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said, and could be extended as necessary.
A 9 p.m. curfew is already in effect for children 14 and younger.
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